


ERROR 404: FANFICTION NOT FOUND

by Fanfic_Soup



Series: UNDERTALE.exe [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bad Puns, Bonding, Dark, Hurt/Comfort, Manipulation, Multi, Possessive Behavior, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-22 00:16:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 54,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6063562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanfic_Soup/pseuds/Fanfic_Soup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>That was all this playthrough was. A series of errors.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. SYSTEM RECOVERY: ATTEMPT 1

**Author's Note:**

> *deep breath*  
> This Fanfiction is based off a version of sans created by **loverofpiggies** on tumblr.  
>  However, it is in no way associated to the story they're currently creating for him, and I claim absolutely no ownership of the character.  
> Also, a quick apology if I write him incorrectly!  
> *exhales*  
> That out of the way, please enjoy!

**SYSTEM RECOVERY: ATTEMPT 1**  


It had started out fine, just a normal playthrough. You’d woken up in the ruins, went through the old song and dance with Flowey, had been saved by Toriel, and then left alone to find your way back to her house. It was when you took a wrong step and dropped through the crunchy orange leaves to the second level that everything went wrong.  
  
When your foot hit the wrong leaves, you braced yourself for the impact on the floor below, but nothing came. Instead, you found yourself falling perpetually, nothing but darkness around you. You panicked, scrabbling at the air in the hopes of grabbing onto anything; you didn’t know when the bottom would hit, but you knew at the speed you were falling the impact alone would kill you.  
  
Out of some desperation, you called out to the void. “PLEASE HELP!!!” You had no idea if anyone could even hear you anymore, but... maybe Gaster...? You didn’t know much about him, but had heard he was part of the code. Maybe he could help! “HELP!!” You cried out again.  
  
After grabbing desperately a few more times, you finally decided to close your eyes and brace for impact. There was nobody coming. You would hit the bottom of whatever this was, and you would end up at your last save in the ruins.  
  
Then you would avoid those leaves like the plague.  
  
Before you could hit the bottom, something strange happened. Your soul, (color), had suddenly been pulled from your body. It flew by your face, clearly exempt from the gravity that was pulling you downwards. You weren’t sure what would happen if your soul separated so far from your body, and in a blind panic you reached out to grab it. Before your hand could close near it, your body jerked to a sudden stop, and pain flooded your senses, causing you to wrench your hand back towards your chest. You choked at the sensation; it felt like your body was on fire, melting away. Then, as suddenly as it came, it was gone, though you were still suspended mid-fall.  
  
You cautiously and somewhat shakily looked up at your soul where it had frozen a little ways above you, and were shocked to find it was being held there not by itself, but by at least a dozen pale blue strings, wrapped around it and receding off into the darkness. “Wh...what...?” You couldn’t for the life of you figure out what had happened. Had Gaster heard you? Tentatively, you reached up to try and grab your soul. 

  


“tͮ̂ͫͨ͋̚͢h̢͛̒ͪaͩ͠t́͌̽͆̚͘'͑͒̏̋ͫ͆̏̀sͧͦͧ̏̐͑ͬ͟ ̄̎ͮ́͘ă̔̒ͦ́͒ͤ ͒̃ͦͤ́ͮ̀b̒ͣ̐̆͘a͗͑̂́̿ͯ̔͜d ̈́͐ͥ̂̕i̡͒̎ͪͦ̔͊d̨ͨ͂̇̍e͑̊͗ͬ̓a̓ͭ̽̋.̀̾͋ͫͦ̚͠”  
  
The voice startled you, and you turned forward again to its source. _Wait, sans?!?_  
  
He was floating in front of you, all smiles as usual, except... well, frankly, he looked VERY messed up, in the literal, most gaming sense of the term. Every here and there, you could see bits of him glitching in and out of existence, and ERROR signs seemed to have attached themselves to him like leeches. “sans, what... what happened to you?” His blackened face was permanently streaked with blue tears. This couldn’t be the same sans you met every game, the same sans you had joked with, spoken about time travel with... this sans just seemed... wrong.

  


“o͊͠ḩͧ̐,̧ͦͧͮ̚ ͧͧ̔̔͑̇҉t̢͌̄h̨̎̈́̆̊͛̚a͊͗̎ͤ͆ͥ͂͘t́'̨s̆̋͗ͯͮͩ̓ ͐͗ͮ̅͌̈ͪ͡a̓ͭͨ̔̾ͬ̾ ̓́̇̀͝rͨ͌̂̆͑̎҉ė̉ͮ̾̀͑͑͠a̛lͬ̋̔̃͋ ͛̊̈́͛i̧̍nt͟e͆͆rͪ̎̏e̡ͤ̍̉s̵͂́tͩͬͩ͗ͭi͐̇ͧ̄n̽ͩ̿ͤ̓̑̚͘g̷̃͌ ̆̏͜s͗͒tơ̊͆ͮrͩ̄ŷ̷̋ͯͪ̄.͋̍ͫ͊̓ͬͫ͞ ̡ͫ̋b̶ͪuͥͯͮͫ̃ͩť͑̾̿ͬ̄̈́ ̑͐ͪ̑̊̕r̡i͂͌̓̄͛͂̿͟gͫ͊͂ͩͥ̒̈͏hͥ̀͞t͑́ͥ̇̃̈́̍͏ ͩͣͬ͑͋̚n̾̓ͬ̀͑ͥo͋͝ẇ.ͮ͐̏ͯ̈́ͨ͊.̔̎.̄͑ͪ҉”  
  
One of his hand shifted, and then you noticed the pale strings attached to them. You watched in awe and horror as his hand shifted your soul down and between the two of you, the strings pulling it along with ease like a puppet. 

  


“y͌ő̶u̾ͮ̂̍͊ ̈s̏͊̈͝h͛ͧ̃̊͋̊͢õu͒̀ͤl͢d̴ͦ ̷ͬ̂̑ͥͥ͗b̀͊̎̋̈ęͩ̏͑ͩ̑̔ ̸ͧ͐̚ǎ̾͒ͩͣ̍̓ ̡̈́ͥ̆̋͊l̍̀̏͢i̋̊͊̐ͩ͜ẗ́̄͂͐tl͂̌e̾̍̈́ͭ̏͢ ̎͐͛̉͛̃̕m͌͛o͌̓̈́r̐͌̑͑eͤ̈ ̐c̄̅ͦ̅͗̊oͭ̈nͫ̚͢c̶̑͛̊̃͑̑̚e͋ͦ͗r̨̈́̅͌̅ͪ̆n̾͝e͗͗͂d̐̒̿̈́̆̇ ͬ̂ả̂͞bͬo͊ͦ́͐u̓̄ͣ̍͐̄t̴̓̈ͯ̌ ̢̑̈́t̏ͪh͞i̓sͬ̏̎ͦ͜,ͯ̋̎̾̍ͥ r̂͑̈́̌ͣi̾̓̌ͫ̚ghͫ̀ͯ͌ͣͦt̑ͬ̆ͣ?́̆͠”  
  
He curled his fingertips inwards, and suddenly you were filled with a sharp pain. You bit back the cry that threatened to escape, and he narrowed his eyes, smiling even wider.

  


“wo͑̌̇̀ẇ̶,ͧ͗̌̓ͮ́ ͂̃ͣ͜ho̿ͮ̐͟ẃ ͋̓ͪ͘b͋̋̆̈́r̽a̢͋ͪͩ̓ͤ̃v̈̾̄̋̄͒̐e͌ͤ̀!̿ͪ̔ͤͦ ͡”  
  
You opened your mouth to comment, and he viciously clenched his hand into a fist. It was excruciating, and unable to contain yourself you screamed in pain, every piece of your body feeling like it was being torn apart. 

  


“t́̕óoͧ̒̑̓͒ ̴ͦb̈́ͥ͛ͪ́a̵̒̄̿ͧďͯͬ͟ ͩͫ̐ͪi̎ͬ̿t̄ͦ'͐ͬͭ͑̽͆͝s̡ ͂͌ͭ̃̐̓p̅ͣ̑́oͤ̒̾̆͒̋͜i̍ͩ̄ͫ̉ͫ̃̀nͣ̈́̀͊ͨ̐t̢͐ͭ̀ͫ̌͐ͧl͆̎éś̈́͋̑̀ͫs̓̎ͤ͂̇͜.́ d̢ͧ̇̾̓ͦ́ͪi̓̚̕e͐,̇̑̒͟ ̴̒͂ͦ̀g̶͛ͦ̋̔̇͑l̿͂̈́̆ĩ̢ͯ̾̏̒t͝c̓͗̎ͧ̓͗̏h̴͒̊͂̽͋.ͨ̄”  
  
You could feel your HP draining quickly, your lack of armor being painfully apparent. You weren’t sure why you didn’t just let him finish you, let yourself go back to your last save, but for some reason...  
  
You were filled with determination.  
  
You closed your eyes tightly, focusing all your energy on your soul. You had to keep it alive. You had to break it free.  
  
You wouldn’t die. Not here, not now.  
  
You mustered all your strength.  
  
“SANS!!! PLEASE!!!”  
  
And the pain stopped. You fearfully opened one eye, daring to look at the messed up sans. He still held your heart in the mess of strings, but he looked... confused. Unsure. Almost a little lost, and you couldn’t help the thrum of sympathy that escaped your aching soul. sans had always been a little depressed, hadn’t he? You’d always wanted to hug him. The look had quickly turned to a decidedly sour one, despite his smile, and then he suddenly and wordlessly dropped your soul.  
  
You fell, and fell, and fell, watching him get smaller and smaller and smaller, before you finally felt yourself get sucked into something, and your vision went black.  
  
You sat up in the golden flowerbed, and stared at the purple walls of the ruins blankly. You knew you shouldn’t feel this way. You knew no person in their right mind would think it.  
  
You stood, brushing yourself off. No normal person would think it, but you weren’t a normal person. You were filled with determination.  
  
You were going to save the messed up sans.

  


**SYSTEM RECOVERY ATTEMPT: FAILED**  
**RESETTING SYSTEM**


	2. SYSTEM RECOVERY: ATTEMPT 2

**SYSTEM RECOVERY: ATTEMPT 2**  


So you had your plan; you knew you were going to save the strange sans you had seen in the void. But... how were you going to find him again?  
Deep in thought, you stepped into the second area of the ruins.  
  
“Howdy! I’m- Oh it’s just you.” The demonic flower sunk visibly at your appearance. When you didn’t pause walking, however, he stood straight in horror. “Hey! Hey! HEY!!!”  
  
You felt a sharp pain in your soul, and stopped. You were being attacked?!? You searched around for your enemy and found... Flowey. It seemed you’d come dangerously close to stepping on him.  
  
“Oh. Sorry, Flowey.” You off-handedly offered. You knew what this flower was about, and while it did make it harder to hate him... ‘harder’ was really the key word here. But... he could potentially help you get back to the void area. Would it be worth asking him, though...?  
  
“Sure, sure... like I believe that...” He muttered under his breath, and looked as though he was about to disappear.  
  
“Wait!” He paused at your command. “You can... you can do stuff to the game itself, right?” This was probably a bad idea.  
  
“Oh, sure!” He smiled in that evil way only he could manage. “At least, I USED to be able to. Then some snotty little human came along.” Clearly, he was referring to you.  
  
You clucked your tongue, frowning. “Then you won’t be helpful...”  
  
“...” He stared at you with an unreadable expression. “... What exactly are you trying to do?”  
  
“Well... “You began doubting the wisdom of explaining your situation to the flower monster, but... desperate times called for desperate measures, right? “I want to go the void. You know, that dark area outside the game terrain.”  
  
“What? Why would you do that?” He asked in disbelief, looking at you like you’d lost your mind.  
  
“...” This, you definitely didn’t want to tell him. “Look, does it really matter?”  
  
He had a sour look on his face for a moment, before cheering up strangely. “You know, I can’t get you there, but I can point you in the right direction...”  
  
You knelt down in front of Flowey, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why are you suddenly so keen to help me?”  
  
“Hey, we’re pals, right? Besides...” He got that evil look on his face again. “Watching you die will be fun.”  
  
Of course. He just **had** to have a creepy reason. But... help was help, and you really couldn’t afford to decline it in a place like the Underground; your only other choice would be sans, and you had a feeling he would be less than receptive to the idea.  
  
“All right.” You stood fully. “Lead the way.”  
  
“In a minute.” He suddenly popped into the ground, and immediately following his vanishing act you heard a soft female voice call out.  
  
“Hello? Is there someone down here?”  
  
Toriel came into view, a look of concern on her face. “Oh dear! My child, what are you doing down here? Have you fallen? Are you uninjured?” The motherly goat monster bustled over to you, looking you over carefully. You couldn’t keep the smile from your face at her actions; even though she never remembered you from previous resets, she was still always so caring and concerned.  
  
“I’m okay, thank you for asking!”  
  
She smiled, brushing off your thanks with a pretty blush, and then began her dialogue about the dangers of the ruins, and motioned for you to follow her. Under normal circumstances, you enjoyed the genuine warmth and kindness of Toriel, but this time you had a mission.  
You dutifully followed prompts until she left you alone again, and when you were sure she was out of earshot, you called out for Flowey.  
Unsurprisingly, he didn’t show.  
_Figures. Of course he’d get my hopes up and then ditch._ You thought to yourself, and sullenly went to kick at the orange leaves, only to notice at the last second that Flowey had begun to pop up directly in front of your foot.  
  
“OUCH!” He toppled backwards, landing on his stem as though it was his back, and propped himself up with his leaves. “WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?” He scowled at you, a dirt scuff from your shoe on the center of his face.  
  
“Whoops! Sorry Flowey!” You bent down to get a better look at the damage. He’d been hurt worse, you were sure. He could survive a little kick in the face! You could hear him muttering ‘sure, **real** sorry.” to himself as he righted his stem and planted his roots in the ground.  
  
“So...” You cleared your throat. “Do you see any openings?”  
  
“Not here. But I did a bit of scouting.” He looked quite smug at his statement. “I have no idea why you bother with Toriel. You should’ve killed her then and there, and it would have saved you the pain of a useless tutorial.”  
  
You scoffed at him, standing up straight before drolly replying. “I’ll keep that in mind.” For all his pressure to kill Toriel, even **he** couldn’t bring himself to do it. “Besides, I kind of like her... tu-toriel.” Flowey gave you a look that spoke of your imminent death, and you mentally congratulated yourself. sans would be proud. “So, where is it?”  
  
He mumbled something you couldn’t quite catch before replying. “Remember that room with the garbage ghost in it? It’s there.” That meant you would have to “battle” Napstablook before you could do anything. Almost as though predicting your train of thought, he smiled evilly. “Don’t worry about him, I took care of that.”  
Your eyes widened and you gave the golden flower a severe look, and to his credit he wilted ever so slightly under your gaze. “...I just scared him off, geez...”  
You released a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding in. You liked Blooky, and found it endearing how awkward the weepy ghost could be.  
  
“Ugh, look, I’ll meet you there, okay?” and with that Flowey popped out of view.  
  
The walk to the “ghost encounter” room wasn’t particularly eventful. You ran into a few monsters, and either ACTed your way out, or fled. Really, you spent all your time deciding on a plan of attack. How would you help the messed up sans? COULD you help him? You didn’t know a lot about game data, but you had a feeling he wasn’t intentionally left there, just like Doctor Gaster.  
  
You were so deep in thought that you were a little surprised and, frankly, proud of yourself when you noticed you had arrived at the familiar room with a narrow passage of orange leaves in the middle. It seemed Flowey was telling the truth about chasing Blooky off, as the ghost was no longer lying on the floor.  
  
“Well? You gonna do this or what?” Flowey spoke up from the north wall.  
  
You approached him, staring curiously at the violet bricks. “It’s here?” You surveyed the entire wall, noticing a few cracks and cobwebs, but nothing out of the ordinary. “It wasn’t here last time...”  
  
“How would I know?” He spat. “I don’t normally go around looking for these stupid things. I just avoid them.”  
  
That was fair enough. You ran a hand along the wall, pausing when a section made your hand seem to glitch in and out of existence. Taking a deep breath, you stepped into the wall, and the darkness of the void.  
Just before you passed through entirely, you heard Flowey’s voice.  
  
“Oh, don’t worry if you don’t come back. I’ll take **good** care of this world!” He cackled.

  


**CORRUPTION DETECTED.**  
**RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC.**


	3. CORRUPTION QUARANTINED.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! As a quick note, the dialogue that is all "X"'s is that way on purpose; since AO3 can't utilize Wingdings, it was the only way to preserve the reader's inability to understand them.  
> Sorry about that!

**CORRUPTION QUARANTINED.**  
**RESUMING SYSTEM RECOVERY: ATTEMPT 2**

  


You weren’t sure why you thought you would step onto something solid when you passed through the tear; when your foot hit air and you went hurtling downwards again, you mentally berated yourself and panicked. Would he remember you?!? Would he even bother to catch you again?!?  
  
Suddenly, you noticed your rapid descent had begun to slow, and eventually you came to a complete stop, floating mid-fall and surrounded by a faded orange glow.  
  
“XX XXXX, XXXX XXX XXX XXXXX XXXX?”  
  
Even though you couldn’t really understand what was being said, you knew it had to be Gaster. After all, if Wingdings could be spoken, you imagined that strange series of noises was what they’d sound like! He re-oriented you, and apparently solidified the darkness beneath you, allowing you to stand on your own.  
  
“Thank you so much, Dr. Gaster!!”You turned to face the tall, dark man, giving him a bright smile. He smiled back (at least, you **think** he smiled back. Like sans, it seemed smiling might just be his default expression.), and taking the opportunity, you spoke up about your mission. “Do you know anything about a strange-looking guy wandering around here?”  
  
He seemed a little confused and hurt by the statement, and you quickly recanted. “N-no, not you!! A different guy!!” At this, he hesitated, then shook his head ‘no’. “Darn... is there any chance you would help me look for him?”  
  
He hesitated again (strange) before shaking his head ‘no’ once more. “XX XX XXX XXXXXXXXX XXX XXX XX XX XXXX. X X XXXXXXXXX XXX.”  
  
You suddenly began floating upwards, once again surrounded by an orange glow. “W-wait! No, I **have** to find him!!!” You struggled against the magic, filled with determination. You made it this far, you weren’t going to turn back now!  
  
As though reacting to your wishes, the orange magic dissipated instantaneously, and you plummeted downwards again, past a horrified Gaster and into the depths. You screwed your eyes shut, really hoping you weren’t going to regret your decision.  
  
Just as you began to admit to yourself you screwed up, an unpleasantly familiar feeling wracked your body. When you opened your eyes, you were once again suspended in the darkness with your soul casting a (color) glow from above you.

“ỹ̨òu͋ͭ͋'̛͆ͦͮ̋r̐͒ͫͪ͏eͧ̑̆̊̍̈́̉ ͒͐͆ͬ̓͗b̡͑̃̎ͫ̏̚a̵͊̓̚cͣ̈͌͌ͧk̢ͪ?ͧ̓͛͛”  
He sounded a little surprised, though his face betrayed no emotion. You nodded fervently, attempting to squirm a little but to no avail. “I came back to get you!”

“w͐̋͌ͬ̑̀h̊̓ͥ̏͛ͥ̇yͮͫ̍́̚?̆̃̐ͩ͋ͪ́”  
He sounded legitimately baffled and gave you an odd look.  
  
“Well...” Shoot. You hadn’t really thought out your reasoning in an eloquent manner. “You seemed like you could use... help?”

“h̴̾͌e̛̿̾͊̈ͥl̏̈́̉p͂͘.ͩ̆́̒̾͌.̸̾͐͐̔ͪ.ͪͯ̂ͪ̽?̽͒ ͩ̌ͦhͪ̂͐͘a͆͋̅̈́ ̎ͪ̐͊h̅̂ͣa͛ ́h͞a̒̀ͧ̚..̶̊̈͋͆̀̄ͤ.́͝”  
He seemed eerily happy. 

“i̇̿ ̸̓̑ͤ̑ͦͭgͭu̢͗e͆ͥ̄̐̃̚͘s̿̆̂͛͢s̔ ẗ͒̏̓ͮ̿̆h̨i̓ṡ̆̅̓͌̓̿ i̡̋̈́̿̂̚s̐ ͒ͦ͌̂҉p̧͂̉̇̀͒̃̊r̉̓͑ͯe̛ͥͤ̀̇t̡̍͑ty͌ͭͭͤ ͛ͫͪ̅̇̆h̎ͬ͏e̷ͯl̍ͤp̡ͮ͋̓̃ͫ̄̚fͦǘ͂̆̆ͨ͗̐l̛ͮ.̐̃̄͊͛̈ ̆ͮ͗ͦ͒̽͋i̓̋ͬͦͭ̉͑ ̒w̛ͥ̑̿o͊ͥn'̨̇t͐͆ ͌̏̑̃h͊͟a̧ͭͩ̐͂͑̈̽vͫ̽̆̃ĕ̀͗ ͊t̂ǫ ̅c̍͑̽͒̽̕ḩ̔̏ả̅̚se̐͆͜ ̡͐̋ͫͩ̾̎́ỷ͗ͯ̓͜o͛ͨ͘u͐͆̃ͩͩͣ ̓̓̒ͦ͆ȧ̛̂̆ͤr͑̿͞ŏ͒͌̔̇ͫ̚u̡ͥ̃̂ͤņ͛͛ͣ̄̑ͦdͤͫ̃̃̚͞ ̎͆ͫ́ͦͩn͑ͩ̅҉oẁͧ̏̊́!ͥ͊”  
  
“Chase me?” What did he mean by that?

“ǫ̌ͮ̆̇ͬ́̄f̷͆̓̉ͮ ͑͌ͦ̐̿̈c̅̌oͦ̽̍͢u͑̅̋̾͑̋̚rͤ̈s̏̒̉͊ẻͮ!̷̊͛̉̃͆̊̉ ̿ͤͣ̚ả̀̿̉fͧ͂̄̆ͤ́tͬͨ̅ë͑͊ͬ̄͏ŗ̆͗ ̷̋ͫ̑a̍͋̊͌͐̑̍͜l̊̏ͩ̂l͝..̄҉.”  
He moved closer, and you could feel the threads around your soul tighten. 

“gl̡ͮ̋ͯi̢͂͌̓̃̑͂t͂ͥ̽̃̈҉c̋͐ͦh͑ͪe̸s̐ ͗̐n̨͌̓ͧ̀ͬ̐ee͂ͩ̽͐͟d͗ͣͣ̓̑ͨ̔ ͬ̋͂̿͞t͒ŏ̷̓ͫ ͒͛̚͜b͆e̔̽̑ ͌͝d͌̿͐̽ͪͯé͐ͥͧs͏tͨr̵ͥͨoͦ̈y̏҉e͊̑̍ͩ̒̊d̈́͐̈́̌.͗ ♥”

Kill you. He was going to kill you. How had you stopped him the last time?!? “s-sans, please-“

“iͫ ͔̗̜̹͈͋͗s̺̰̠̍͐ͮ̍ͧ͗hͫ̆̈́̅o͍̦̗͙͆̿͊ͤu̳̱ͪl̟̈ͯ̈́͛͆̾d̳n͎̜̹̦̎̋̓̉͑̔̋'̠̀͛̽͆͒ͪ̚t̬͍̤̫̗͕ ̥̹̌̃̆̃͋h̺͇̮ͯ͊ͅa̤͇̻̝ͤ̇̆̊v̭̀ͭ̆̅͌͋ḛ̱̥͉̃ͪ̋ ͔̦̩̣́l̟̟̘̫̫̺͖̂ͫ͊̓̿e̹̪͉̘̿ͅt̫̙̝͔̱̘̂ͥ ͈̮̼̞͔̗̏ͅy̦͕̣̭̹͉̘͊̾o̹͖̠ͯͦ̓͂͆̈u͉͔̤͇̪͛̇͊ ̙͉̼̮̖͒g͔̹̜̠̩͛̉̑͌̓̉o̲ ͍̘͓̰̎ͨt̖̳̘̪̞͈̃̔h̦̘͖̝͇̏̿͐͂̽ͫ̿ė̤͚̦͙̜͔ͭͨ̍ ͙̰̂̔̿͑f̭̰̙̦̜͚̣͋̈i̳̳̣̟͚̮͂̈r͚̬̼͙̻̘͆̽́̋ͥs̳̖̪̪̹̿ͨ͑̍̅̌̈́t̝͔̭̣̏͊ͬ ̭͇̭͆͋͌͒̒ͪ̉t̟̹͓ͣ̀ͧ͂iͬ̇̐̎m͎̙̅ͯͨͦ́̿e̝͎̱̳̅ͯ̍ͯ,͖̜̳̦̱̥̦ ̘s̘͉̥̠͙̋ͪč̒ͦ̈ͪ̓ͭr̼͕̂̄̅e̊̊̿͑́w̩̫̝̝͕̬̲͌͗̍̾i̘̬͈̠̭̝̅̄̿n̉ͮ̍́͋ͫg͇̱̙̫̪̉̈̑̓̀̃ ͙̓ͪ̓̿̎ͦ̎w̗͈̏́̃ͣi̝͎ṱ̪̯ͪ̌ͦ̍͊ͧ͑h̫̘̉ͮ ̅̔͋̄m̳̤͙̫͆e̱̫̟̰̓ͧ̓̎ͅ ͎̱̊ͤͣl̙ͭͮͣ͛̇̃̿ĭ͍̬͖ͣ̎̊̍͐k̩̫̱̱̏̑̾e̠͓̤̔̌̆̎̀̎̚ ̣̠͍̹͕͈̑͗͑̓̽͐̂t̝͕͚̖͔͇̎̃̋̉̇̾ͯĥ̫̲̯̬͚ͧa̪̪͔͈͙̋̂̿̿̇̽̑ṭ̝͍̟̲̱͛̂̂̅ͩ̓.̦̻͍̪̓̿.̺͇̯̭͍̰͌̀̿̇̌͌̽ͅ.͈ͣ͐.̨ͧ”

He cut you off, his eyes disappearing and ‘error’ symbols flooding his empty sockets. 

“s̨̖̦̻ͦͥ̐͒̿̅ͭ̆̓ͅở͎͍̹͔͎̣̞͉́͐̆ͅ ̻̳̟̄ͯͭ̑͑̄ͧ͠ͅd̴̺͈͇͕̬͔ͬ̽̿͐ͩͯ̓̃́i̵̟̼͔ͨ̀ͧ̇̿͒͛̍͜͞ë̢̺̤͈̻͍͖͖͖̝͡.̦̰͔ͭ̓̐ͫ͒”

You braced for the pain of death, only to hear multiple snapping noises. You fell down onto something solid, your now freed soul following you downwards and back into your chest. You stared at sans in confusion, and he looked irritated... but he was no longer looking at you. Instead, his irritation was directed behind you a ways, and before you had a chance to turn you heard a familiar voice.  
  
“X XXXXXX XXXXX XXXX.” When you turned, you saw your saviour was indeed Gaster. He had an intimidating look on his face, his shoulders squared and the darkness that he was formed of looked almost as though it was alive, crackling with energy. You quickly backed towards him so he was between you and the messed up sans, acting as a physical barrier.

“y̓̌͌ͤͤ̑ͮoͤ̽ŭ҉.͞ ̐ͬͯͦs̆̈t̒a̸̒y̧ͤ ̴̀o̅̂͐̄̌̑ͬ͠uͦ͐ͤ̚t̐́ͣ́̌ͧ҉ ͆ͦ͞oͩ̄͑f͐̇̈́̽͒ͭ̒̕ ̧̑̓̎t̂̍̄̃͜h̎̎ͣ̽ͧ̓̾͏iͣ͋s̛̀̓͛ͥ́̚.̊̂͗ͩ͆”  
The sans threatened, more blue threads appearing from the darkness. When Gaster made no move to back down, messed up sans let out a pained-sounding laugh. 

“fͦ͒ĩ̭ͫͤn͉̹̳ȇ̲̗͚͈̬̜ͤ.͔̯̫͖̫̪͙̉́̎̐̉͆̿ ̫͔̰̗̗͂ͤ̀i͙̦̟̪̖͓̩̎͌̈́ͩ̚'͕̽ͭ̅̈́ͨl̖͍͇͔̅̽ͯͤ̉l̤͙͖ͫ́ ̙̭̙̤̠͍̅̅̒͑͗͆ͅg̿̈̽ͮͩ̀ͨe̥̭̻͕̦ͦͬ̎͛ț͌ͪ͋̌ͧ̚ ̬̘̆r͋̃̓ͨ͊͛i͎͚̜̳̗̹̩ͭ̏ͫ̈́d͚̱̬̲͈̘̪̉̊̐̏̒ͯ ͊̾͛ͭͮ͑ȍ͔̣̺͈ͮͥ̅̎f̳͇̖̫̮̼̈́̈̓ͭ̓ ̜̖͙͗̉ͫ̾ͬ̚b̲̟͓̱͕͆̇̌̇̎ͅo͖͓͖͚̮͖̰̐ͭ̇̿tͩ̄h̗̺̘͉̓̽͛̐̽ ̩ͥͮͥô͎̮͚ͫf̠̚ ̫̬̜͓̳̩͓̇̒y͔̹o̠͊̌ͅu͊͆̅͑ͮ̾,̬̖͖ͣ̍͛͌̆ ̥̹̝̟͓̤̀̎͑̓ͨt͓ͪͮ̒̃͆͐ḧ͖͚̘̬͇̯̱̎̿ͣ̎ẻ̝̗͇̫̙n͙̱̯̄ͨ̔̋!̮͎̗̭͕̍͒̏̓̃”

He suddenly lunged at Gaster, and the next thing you knew bursts of highly concentrated magic was coming from seemingly everywhere; the orange magic, consisting mostly of ghostly hands sending out magic and large autonomous skulls, were deftly avoiding the messed up sans’ attacks while simultaneously protecting you, and the strange blue, red and error-filled magic was being flung from all directions, targeting both you and Gaster.  
  
There was a pause in the fight, and for a second it felt like time had slowed. sans was heading towards Gaster with what appeared to be a killing blow, and Gaster was preparing some sort of magic attack, completely unguarded.  
  
Without even thinking, you flung yourself between the two. “STOP!!”  
  
The next series of events was a bit of a blur.  
  
sans, who you were facing, was shocked at your action and had dispelled his magic in time to avoid hitting you. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to stop himself from running into you, and the two of you fell backwards.  
  
At that exact moment, you saw Gaster’s orange magic tear a hole in the void behind you, where **only** sans would have been, had you not been in the way.  
  
The last thing you heard before falling through the tear was a horrified exclamation from Gaster.

  


**SYSTEM RECOVERY FAILED.**  
**COMMENCING DATA RESTORATION.**  
 


	4. DATA RESTORATION: 10%

**DATA RESTORATION: 10%**

You and the messed-up sans had tumbled out of the tear, you landing flat on your back on the floor of what appeared to be the ruins, and sans landing on top of you. Immediately, like a cat covered in water, he scrambled off of you and backed against the wall.  
  
“w̴-w͝ha͠t̵ ͞t̡ḩe͟...?!?͝ what h̷ápṕe̕n̵e̶d?!̵?” He seemed slightly terrified. “h͝o͢w... w̶ḩy̨ ám̛ ̨i͡ o͏u̢t ͠he͡re̕?͡!͢?”  
  
You rubbed your head where it had connected with the floor. “What... do you mean?”  
  
“i'm.̀.̛. ́s͜òlid̵.͘” He pressed his skeletal hand on one of the ruin’s walls, and a dark look crossed his face. “w̸̕h̛͜a̸͜͠t̨͜ ͡d̸̡͘i̡͘d̡͢͝ ́͘y̶o̶ú͠͡ ̴̡̢d͟͝o̷ t͡o m͠e͏̀́?”  
  
“N-nothing!! It was probably-“ A sharp pain cut you off as your soul was pulled from your chest, and you faltered in standing. As quickly as the pain came, it vanished; when you looked up, the strange sans had a hand pressed to his own chest, and a look of confusion on his face. “...W-what is it?”  
  
“my̵ s͞o҉ul...” He flexed his free hand testingly. You flinched from the pain of the threads tightening, but were surprised to see him mirror the reaction. “th͢ey͝’r͡ȩ.̸.́.͜ ͏tièḑ t̷òget̷he̢r͝.͠” He looked from your soul to you, and you gaped at him.  
  
“You can’t drop it?!? Why?!?” You watched as your soul returned to you, still adorned with threads, fusing itself into your chest.  
  
“i ̕d͡o̢n̴’͠t̡ kńo̵w͘.̢ i҉t ͘must ha̴ve͡ ̵had̶ sơm͟et̀hin͟g͘ ̡t̷o ͠d͝ò wi̷t҉h̀ tha̢t͟ ͝g̵l͞itch̶’s̡ p̧o̧we͏rs.” He seemed deep in thought, trying to sort something out. You took the moment to figure out exactly where the two of you had come out, and within seconds you realized you were back at the beginning of the ruins.  
  
“Did I... reset...?” You muttered quietly, standing fully. Why had the two of you ended up here? Did Gaster intend to send the messed-up sans here, or had you died in the attack and gotten sent back, somehow bringing the strange sans with you? You glanced over at him; he looked like he was testing the walls and floors of the ruins, almost as though he still couldn’t believe the situation he was in. You felt kind of bad. After all, it was really your fault he was here. “...I’m... I’m really sorry, sans.”  
  
He stared at you unreadably for a second, then smiled and spoke. “don't c͏al̴l̀ me ̸tha̢t. ͘it͘'̕s a͡l͢ready ta̕k͝en͠.” Before you could question that, he continued. “jus͝t͠ c͟all ͢m̸e͘ ҉'erroŕ'.”  
  
“Uh, okay... well, I am sorry, Error. I didn’t mean for... whatever this was to happen.” You wanted so badly to explain your intentions to him, but after the way he had reacted the first time you decided to bite your tongue.  
  
“t̷ha͝t's̴ fi͟ne҉.͢” His sudden change of attitude threw you off; there was no anger or frustration in his voice, just a strange acceptance. “hów di̶d ͞y͜ou ̡fi̴nd̕ ͜mé,̷ ̧anyw͢ays? ͏mo̕st gl҉it́c̶h̛es càn'̨t͝ ̧rȩaćh ̴my ͢pa͟r͜t͏ ͏of t͟he҉ ́v̷o҉i̵d.̸.̶.”  
  
“Oh! The first time I fell through a hole, and the second time I sort of... did it on purpose.” For some reason it sounded embarrassing when you said it out loud. If he thought it was, he didn’t mention it.  
  
“seriously? y͘óu͜ just w̨e͜nt̷ t̢h̵r͘o̕ugh ͡a̕ hol̛e̶?́ ̨where?” He must have really wanted to go back, and you guessed that was understandable.  
  
“First it was in the floor, then a wall. Actually...” You frowned to yourself. “They’re never in the same place. A friend – Flowey – told me.”  
  
He did a double-take when you said “Flowey” and “friend” in the same sentence.  
  
“ **w͏he͏re** a̧m̴ i.̡..” He looked moderately horrified.  
  
“Under... Underground... are you umm, okay?”  
  
“h̷a͡ ҉ḩa͞ ̴ha͞, ̸sure,́ w̡h͡y̡ ͠ẃoưl̵ḑn't i̸ ̢be?” He really didn’t seem okay. “i̧ dò͡n̵'̨͡t̵̴͠ k̕͞͠n̛͢͡o̸̧͡w̷ ͘w͝her̶̛͟é ͡i ͘a͞m̶̴, ̷i͏ ͜͟͝can't̕ ̀͘g͟͡et̴̡ m̢ys̡͢͞ęl̸f̡̀ ̛̕o̢̡̕u͜͡ţ̸͡.̷̢̨..̡̛̕” He was pressing a hand against the wall. “a͢͟n̶͟d ̵̛̕t҉̸͘o̶͠ t̶ó͜p ͟ì̢t̕ a̢̛͏l̨ĺ̢̡ o҉f̴͟f,̀͟͜ ̴i͏̸ d̀on̢̕͘'t́͘ e̸͠ve̵̡̕n͝҉̴ ̡͟k̶̡ń͢o̵͜͝w̷ ͜w̶͡h̴͟͡ỳ͞ ̶͡͠ **th͝i̵̵͘s̵̨** ” He emphasized the word by tugging on your soul from inside you, causing you to jerk forward, and both of you to flinch slightly. “i̧̢s̡̧ ̢́͜h͏̶a̡̨̕p͠͏̸p̧e̶̛n͜į̶n̷̷ģ͜͞!̛” He ran a hand over his skull, starting to look more glitchy than usual. “s̵̗̝̗̻̙̤̝͜͠o̶͇̳̺̤̤͕̬̞̥̕͠ ̸̧͕͍̰̼̗̣̱̘̫o̬͚̺̲̠f̴̝̭̖̹ ̱̞́c̸̼̗͈̻͓͓͈͞ǫ̗̫͍͢ų̷͕̲̯ͅr̺̟̣̝s̸̢̲̭̩͓̬̘͔̯͢ę͚͚̣͉̗͍͞ ̲͕̘͕̞̭͙͠͝į̣̠̱̰̘͈̩͟'̶̘̮͇͍͖̮̻̳m̳͢͜͡ ͚̙͙͕̫͍̱͜ͅo̧͏̳͉̫̰̫͍͉k̡̲̖͕̗̫̟̕à̡͖͚̩͖̜y̘̘̖͇̩͍͘!̧̞͈̱̘͔̪̗”  
  
Crap, you **really** felt bad. You had to think of something, anything, to try and make him feel better. “Wait, wait!” You waved your hands to get his attention. When he looked up at you, you continued. “Would it help if we could find another hole? I mean, there must be one!”  
  
His glitching started to calm. “ć̨͡án ͝y̧͢o͏u̵̢ ̴̵e͠͡ve̷͡͏ń͞ ̧ḑ͜o ́͞t͘hat̴̛͢?̀͡”  
  
“Well, not me, but remember? My friend Flowey can do it, and he’s always here, just in the next room!” You gave him a hopeful look. Sure, you wanted to help him, but ripping him out of his comfort zone was definitely not the way you’d intended to do that. He was pensive, then relaxed, walking closer to you.  
  
“all̕ r͘i͡ght͝. ͢l͘e͘t'̴ś g̴o,̨ ͞t̨h̨e̵n!” His sudden cheerfulness threw you for a loop, and you ended up awkwardly staring at him for a few seconds before recollecting yourself and nodding. Were these emotional heel-turns normal for him?  
  
Turning, you walked through the long hallway and doorway into the dark room, debating in your head **what** exactly you were going to tell Flowey; no matter how you worded it, the outcome always involved him having a laugh at your expense. But you paused when you noticed something different.  
  
There was no greeting. Just silence.  
  
The single, circular beam of light that normally highlighted the cheery-looking flower was empty. You nervously searched the darkness, not seeing any movement.  
  
“Flowey?” You called out for him.  
  
But nobody came.  
  
“If this is a stupid joke or some kind of revenge plot, it’s not funny!” Silence.  
  
“i͡'m̸ ̀ģu͢essįn͡' y̕ơu͢r ̀p̴a̸l҉'̨s not h̸e̛r͝e?̡” Error walked a little ways past you, scanning the room.  
  
“Maybe... he’s hiding? He’s **always** here...” You muttered to yourself; this was _very_ strange. No matter how many times you had reset, Flowey had always returned to this spot, even though he no longer tried to attack you. Why had he suddenly stopped?  
  
Error had summoned his threads, and other than the ones sticking to your soul, there was nothing.  
  
“n̵ǫboḑy̕ her͢e͜ ͢b̕ut u͘s.” He confirmed, turning to face you. “y̕o̴u ̛tr͢yi͠n͘' to͟ t̷ri̸c҉k ͞m̀e͝?”  
  
Your shoulders slacked in disbelief, and you walked to the center of the room. “I don’t get it...” You whispered to yourself, pressing your hands to your face.  
  
“h̸e͢y̕, m҉ayb̧e͝ ҉he͟ j̵ús̡t g̡o̢t b͞ored̛?̷” Error sounded oddly nervous, but... what he said helped. Maybe Flowey **had** gotten bored. You normally didn’t take so long to leave the first room; probably guessing it was you, he must have decided he didn’t want to bother with it.  
  
You’d just find him elsewhere in the ruins.  
  
The thought filled you with determination.  
  
“You’re probably right.” You nodded to yourself. “I bet if we-“  
  
“Hello? Is there someone down here?”  
  
Toriel! You’d nearly forgotten about her! Error had stiffened suddenly, staring in the direction of her voice, and you mentally panicked. She wouldn’t know Error by appearance, but would she recognize his voice? After all, it was basically the same as sans’, just a bit more static-y. She stepped into the room and bee-lined for you and Error, a look of concern on her face.  
  
“Oh dear! My child, whatever are you doing down here? Are you uninjured?” She was looking you over carefully, not even acknowledging the lost-looking Error.  
  
“Uh...” You looked over at him, equally as lost. “I’m okay.”  
  
“That is a relief to hear.” She smiled gently, relaxing. “I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins.” You heard Error make an odd, quiet noise.  
  
“I’m f/n, and this is Error.” You automatically introduced him, quickly covering your mouth when you realized the mistake. Should you have introduced him?  
  
Toriel looked around the room, confused. “... whom did you say you are with?”  
  
You exchanged a confused look with Error before hesitantly gesturing towards him. “...Error...?” Her eyes followed your motion and paused on Error, but she showed no recognition.  
  
“Perhaps the fall has injured you more than you had assumed? There is nobody here but you and I.” She had a concerned and confused look on her face and she gently ran a paw over your head, looking for bumps.  
  
“s͡h́e ́ca͠n'̴t s͜e̴e me..̧.̧” He looked distant, no longer looking at Toriel but into the darkness.  
  
You grasped Toriel’s paw and removed it from your head. “Ha ha, sorry. I guess I just got a little bit confused. I’m fine now, really!”  
  
“...” She stared at you. You waited for some kind of response, staring awkwardly at her unusually blank face. Suddenly, she spoke. “You are the first human to come here in a long time.” She was smiling as she usually did. “Come! I will guide you through the catacombs.” With that, she turned and began walking the way she had come from.  
  
You turned to Error, who hadn’t moved from his spot. “Is that... normal? That she can’t see you?”  
  
“i͏ have ̧no͘ ͜id̢e̶a̕.͞” He replied, sounding strangely casual.  
  
You stared at you feet. “Well, we can’t really start exploring the Ruins until we go with her... If that makes you uncomfortable, we can figure-“  
  
“ha̧ h̴a̵ ha̡,͞ w̸h̶y͞ wo̶ùld͠ i͘ b͏e u̢nc̷òmf̀oŕta̛b̷le?” He cut you off before you could continue, giving you a cheery smile.  
  
Funny... you thought to yourself. He sure looked uncomfortable earlier.  
  
Turning away from Error, you followed Toriel’s footsteps and headed to the next room; this was the first “save” room, if you remembered correctly. You weren’t really sure if “save”ing was a good idea  
  
right now, but then again, good ideas apparently weren’t your strong suit.  
  
When you entered the room you saw Toriel smiling and pleasantly waiting for you before ascending the stairs and exiting, as normal.  
  
Except...  
  
“The save... where’s the save?!?” You felt panic beginning to creep into your voice. This was **not** okay.  
  
“th͘e ‘́s̕a͏vé’.͘.. wh҉y̕ ḑo̶es th͡at҉ sou͟n͝d̷ s͘o ͢f̡am͝i̢lia̡r̢?̴” You heard Error talking to himself from behind you, but you didn’t really listen. Your ability to “save” was gone. If you died, how would you come back? What if you just... didn’t? What would happen to Error? All these thoughts raced through your mind as you passed your hands around the space the “save” should have been desperately, hoping that it maybe you just couldn’t see it.  
  
“he̵y͟, loo͞k͏,̀ w͞ha̕t̸ev͝e̡r͏ ỳo͢u’̧re ̶tryi͟n’͟ to fin̢d i͠sn’̕t͏ h͢eŕe.͏ ͜so̴ ͢ca̴n ͡we ̵just,͡ ́y’͘know͡,̸ ̴k͘eép g͜o͏in̡g͞?” Error asked behind you, but you fell to your knees, slack.  
  
“You don’t understand. If I can’t “save”, I might just... die. Forever.”  
  
“t͜h͢at ̢do̴es͏n’͜t so̡u͟n̕d͢ l̛ike such ̡a ͢prob͡l̕em̨.͏”  
  
“But what will happen to you?” You could practically hear him freeze up in realization. If your souls were attached somehow...  
  
“w͜e̡l͟l҉...” He sounded a little less relaxed now. “j͢us͏t ̸don’t҉ ̷d͏įe ͘t́he̷n, ͡‘kay҉?”  
  
“Don’t die.” You repeated him in disbelief. Easier said than done. You’d always died, at least once. You couldn’t do it without the “save”. You buried your face in your hands, trying to keep it together.  
  
“n͡nn͠...͜ c’m̸o͝ń, cu̸t͜ t̵ha͠t҉ ou̡t.҉...̛” Error sounded upset at your reaction, but... you couldn’t help it. Going forward had been so much easier when you had more than one chance.  
  
“se̴r͢ioúsly̢,̴ sto͟p ̕i͠t.̛” He sounded more firm. “look,҉ i̸’̀l̨l.͡..͏ ̡i͜’l̕l̛ he͡lp. ͠i ͝me̴a̴n,̛ i͞ ̢dón’t ̨rea͞ll͠ý kn͞o̵w ̡t͞h̶e exteǹt ̶of my p͡o͝w͜er̕s h̢er̷è,̶ b̛ut́... ͜i̕ ̀ca͡n̷... ̶t͟r̕y҉?͜”  
  
You turned and stared at him, lowering your hands. You knew he had only offered his support since **his** life might depend on it, too, but... it filled you with hope. You weren’t gonna do this alone. You stood. “Error... thank you.” And you hugged him.  
  
And wow, did THAT go down poorly.  
  
His entire body spasmed into a blur and he stiffened, his voice breaking into a static-laced screech.  
  
“D̷̵͏Ǫ̵̷͘͜Ņ’̢̡̀̀́T̡͝ ̷̧́T͏͘O̷̸̡̢͏Ų͡͞C̢͡H̵̡̛̕͞ ͏͝M̴̵E҉̷̵̛̕.̴̢̀̕͟”  
  
In a panic you released him and fell to the floor, a sharp pain running through your soul. You stared at him with wide eyes, and now that you weren’t hugging him, he looked to be calming down. “Uh...”  
  
“j̨u͢st͡.̡..ah...͏ j̶ưst̵ ḑo͞ǹ’t ̧touc͞h ̢me, oka̛y̧?͞ ͞i do͡n’t li̧ke͝ it.” He was avoiding eye contact. “at ͟a͟lĺ.̧ f͘r̨om any͟one͘.̧” He added as an afterthought.  
  
You laughed awkwardly, standing. “Alright then. S-sorry.”  
  
“y͘e͝a͏h̢.͘..̛ ̢can̕ ͡w͝e̡ ̴ke͜eṕ ̶ģo͘ìng͟?͡”  
  
“Yeah.” You ascended the stairs, giving one last baleful look at the “save”s old spot, then continued on to the next room. It was much smaller, and you had to shift over in a slightly strange and suspicious manner to give Error room to follow you. Toriel had noticed and given you a look, but thankfully didn’t bring it up, instead opting to explain the Ruins and the puzzles within them. It was much the same in the next room, except this time **you** had to participate in the puzzles, flipping the switches while Error watched you. You hated to admit it, but it sort of gave you performance anxiety, and you found yourself switching what was obviously an incorrect switch. You didn’t dare turn to see Error’s reaction.  
  
~  
  
When the three of you entered the dummy room, it seemed almost like Error disliked Toriel’s speech, specifically the part about “striking up a conversation” rather than fighting. Deciding not to push him on the subject, you instead approached the dummy and felt your soul slide out from your chest, ready for combat.  
  
Your eyes widened when you saw that other than its usual (color) color, it was still wrapped in Error’s light blue threads, all of which seemed to trail from your soul to, frankly, nowhere. You turned to him and whispered in a panic. “Error! Why are you doing that?!?”  
  
“i’m not̀!” He rebutted, staring at the yellow tips of his phalanges in just as much confusion, the blue threads wound tightly around them. “ì ͝stopp̷ed͞ ͟u͡s̕i̧ng t̕h͟em͟ ̛a̶f͠te̛r̷ ̸t͜ha҉t̶ s͞e̕co̕nd r̛oom̴!҉” He flexed his fingers, and your soul swayed painlessly around.  
  
“Then why...” Was this just another complication of this messed-up play-through?  
  
“i ŕea͏ll̀y ̀w̛ish ͝i ͢k̴ne̕w͢.” He looked incredibly fascinated by the new discovery, smiling to himself. You huffed unhappily.  
  
“Okay... well, I’ll have to deal with this dummy. We can sort that out later.” You turned to begin ACTing at the dummy only to find... it was gone. You turned back to look questioningly at Toriel, only to see what you could describe as an intense look of utter disbelief and confusion on her normally cheerful face. You felt your own cheeks go red from complete embarrassment as it dawned on you; you had **bored** the dummy away. Error sounded like he was trying to stifle laughter, and you shot him a look. He **was** partially to blame, after all!  
  
After what felt like an eternity of silence and shame, Toriel suddenly spoke up. “The next room awaits!” She was smiling as though nothing had happened (which you guessed it technically didn’t), and continued into the next room.  
  
“g͠ưe͢s̴s ͏y͜ou ̵l̶oóke͟d̶ ̵p̶r͏ȩtt̛y goo̴f̢y.́ ♥” Error commented as he followed you.  
  
“It’s not my fault...” You suddenly thought of something. “That dummy must’ve been a bad doctor, ‘cause it had no patience.” You mentally high-fived yourself for your skills, and upgraded it to a mental high-ten when you heard Error hold back a laugh at your joke. He **was** a sans, after all, you mused to yourself. You’d have to remember to try more puns.  
  
You’d been so busy trying to think of more “patience” puns that you almost ran into Toriel, who stopped in front of the ‘spike bridge’ puzzle. “Oh...” you muttered, and then quickly turned to Error. “Stay close behind us, okay?” When he gave you a reluctant look, you shook your head. “I promise not to touch you.” You felt Toriel’s paw gently take hold of your hand, and you allowed her to lead you forward, you checking behind constantly to make sure Error was following. You weren’t sure if he could get hurt, but you really didn’t want to find what would happen if he did.  
  
Once you had traversed the puzzle, Toriel had released your hand and smile earnestly at you. “Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now.” She commented before exiting the room, leaving you with a silly smile on your face. You could never get tired of the motherly monster’s concern.  
  
When you glanced over to make sure Error was okay, for a split second you could have sworn you’d seen a dark look; when you blinked he had his usual expression, and gestured to you as though telling you to continue on.  
  
In this room, Toriel had paused, a concerned look on her face. “You have done excellently thus far, my child. However... I have a difficult request to ask of you.” She seemed to be searching for the words. Error actually looked sort of concerned, and you bit your lip. You knew what was coming.  
  
Toriel finally spoke. “I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this.” She left you standing there, her brisk pace taking her into the darker part of the room.  
  
You waited a minute.  
  
“wh͞at͏.” Error’s voice sounded flat with disbelief, and you laughed.  
  
“I know! I was really freaked out the first time. It’s not that bad, though!” You began walking forwards. Sure, it was a long room, but uneventful.  
  
“she ͜does͘ ̵th͜is r̸epeat̡edly?” He was following a distance behind you.  
  
“Well, yeah, I mean...” You felt self-conscious about your resets; you honestly couldn’t recall **why** you did them, but nobody had ever asked about it before.”I don’t even know if **she** knows she’s done this before, or if she’s just doing it because she feels like she has to...”  
  
“s͞o̕ yơu just͘ ͢le͠t h̸er̵ d̷o it̷.̡” His voice was tinted with something dark, and it made you shudder.  
  
“...yeah...” Something about the way he put it made you feel bad, but... it was true, wasn’t it?  
  
Before you could wallow in self-pity, you noticed you were nearing the end of the room and picked up your pace. “See, she’s just over here.” You walked slightly past the pillar and paused, waiting for Toriel to come out.  
  
But she never came.  
  
You frowned. “Wha...” You checked all around the pillar. Nothing. “Where...?” This was too weird. Where had she gone?  
  
“w̴a̵s͡ ̴s͏ḩe ̛s͠ùpposed̶ t͘ó com͟e͝ out̢?͘” Error watched you pace frantically around with a blank expression on his face.  
  
“Yeah, she was supposed to give me a cell phone... what’s happening to this place...?”  
  
Error shook his head, shrugging. “m͘ay̢b̕e ҉i̴t’s̨ g͏ot som͡e̡th͡i̕ng̛ t̕o͢ ̀d͠ơ with ̡ho̧w we͏ g͝òt he̵r͡e̢?̸”  
  
“That’s... true...” That was probably it, you reasoned. You hadn’t started this playthrough normally, and it was probably just glitching out a little. “It’s fine. We’ll be fine.” You said aloud to yourself. You just had to be.  
  
“y̕o͝u, ͢u̴h͢..̶.͏ ǵon̡na̕ bę ̡al̛right̢ t̴here?̕” Error laughed softly, nervously.  
  
“Yeah.” You took a deep breath and nodded. “We’re going to find Flowey and sort this mess out.” Did you ever hope you would find Flowey. Never had you wanted to see the demonic flower more. “Guess... guess we’ll just keep going.” That was all you could do, after all.  
  
~  
  
The next room had been the second save room, but... once again, there was no save there. You stared at the empty space, biting your lip. This had been where you and Flowey met up to discuss going to the tear that lead to the void. “Flowey?” You testingly called out, and when you got no reply you were strangely nonplussed.  
  
“w͏as͜ ͜your pa̷l͘ ́h͠er̴e̶ l̸a͜st t̨i͝me?” Error asked, amusing himself by messing around with the single Froggit’s soul, making the small monster flop around in a silly manner. It was sweating profusely in nervousness and confusion.  
  
You clucked your tongue and grabbed for one of the threads, surprised to find your hand actually made contact with it. You ran your fingers across the smooth expanse for a second before it vanished, and you noticed Error staring at you. “This is where I talked to him about going to the tear that he’d found.”  
  
“wḩe̡r͡e̶ ͟w͢as i̷t͢?” He asked after a moment.  
  
“In the same room as a ghost friend of mine, Napstablook. In the wall.” You motioned to one of the violet walls absent-mindedly. Come to think of it, how hard **were** these holes to find? You’d never seen one since you’d accidentally fallen into it.  
  
“then̕ w͢ȩ ͢s̛h͠oul҉d ̵he͟a͞d ͝th͞e͠re̷ n̕ex̢t,̴ yeah?” He suggested, walking towards the door to the next room.  
  
You stared at the orange leaves on the ground, then nodded, following him.  
  
“s̀o҉ i̷’m gu͢ęs͟sin̵’̕ y̷òu k̀n͘o҉w ͟w̷he͢re̛ ͢yo̡u҉’҉r͘e ģo̢in͏g̡ ̡here͠, h͠uh?̴” Error questioned casually, waiting for you to walk ahead of him before following suit.  
  
“Yeah. I mean, sometimes I get side-tracked and forget things for a few seconds, but otherwise I’m pretty well acquainted with it.” You paused in front of the cracked flooring in the middle of the room. You’d have to drop down. Without any ado, you stepped onto the cracks and felt the floor give way beneath you, sending you falling to the floor below... at least, it **would** have.  
  
You’d forgotten to tell Error about the intentional drop, and as a result you’d found yourself suspended midair by your soul, Error looking down from the floor above with a cross between irritation and worry. “wha̡t ҉a͏re͜ yo͢u d̵oing,̛ d̴įd̷ń't ͏y̷ou̡ ju̡s͜t̛ sa̢y̵ ́y̨ou ̶k͢new͠ ͡t̀his͏ p̀l͝a͢c̷e?” You smiled sheepishly up at him, giving him a little wave.  
  
“S-sorry! I meant to do that, really!”  
  
“wa͟r͜nìng̴ w̨o̴u̶ld̷ ̶ḩave͟ ́been̷ ̢ni̧c̨e!” He shouted down to you, and loosened his hold on your soul, dropping you onto your bottom on the floor below.  
  
You stood carefully, rubbing the tender area. It was sweet, in a way, that he’d been worried enough to catch you. Looking up at him, you shouted back. “Are you coming down?”  
  
He looked plaintively between you and the floor, probably judging the safety of it. “I’ve done this a lot, Error! Don’t-“  
  
All of a sudden he had landed next to you with a soft ‘thump’, and was straightening himself out and dusting dirt off himself before you could finish you sentence. “...worry.” You finished slowly. He flashed you a slightly wider than usual smile before walking over to the only other staircase in the lower level, and you followed after.  
  
~  
  
Traveling through the ruins with Error was... awkward, to say the least. You weren’t used to having to initiate too many conversations in this place, especially being the first to talk... normally everyone would start speaking to you at just a prompting look or word. You knew so little about Error, you weren’t even sure where to start.  
  
Every once in a while you’d find him running a hand along a wall, almost as though he was hoping to happen onto a tear. For his sake, you sort of hoped he’d find one. “So what will you do once we find a hole?” You questioned as you worked through a puzzle.  
  
“g̸o ̢th̨ro͜ưgh͘ ̨it, ̛o͡b̀v͡io̕u̢sļy.͘” Obviously. He didn’t want to be here.  
  
“Yeah, but...” You finished pushing the second rock in place, and leaned on it. “What will you do once you get back to the void?”  
  
“my j́ob̡.̴ i͢’m̕ su̧r̕e͞ ̛e̵ve͠r̀yt̕hing’͝s g̛o͡i͟ng to͏ g̡a̛rba͜ge s̨i͝nce͢ ̀í’m gơne.” He stated very matter-of-factly.  
  
“Oh! I didn’t know you had a job!” You stood, walking over to the third rock, waiting a moment before speaking to it; you wanted to know more about Error’s job.  
  
“y͠ea҉h.͏” He turned to face you, lighting up. He must have really enjoyed his job.  
  
“What is it?”  
  
“i̛ d͜e͞st̕roy ͠g̛lįtc͟hęs t͘o k͠eep ̵t͘he͘ ͝t͏i͡meli̛n̴e͜s҉ ̷i̕nt̷a̵ct.” He spoke in such a casual way that it threw you for a loop. Timelines? He destroys glitches? Wait...  
  
“Hey, but... when I was in the void... you called **me** a ‘glitch’...” You suddenly felt nervous being in the same room as him.  
  
“y̛ou̴ a̕re.͏” He said confidently, now looking between you and the last switch.  
  
“...Um... so then...” You trailed off. How did you ask someone if they were going to murder you?  
  
He smiled wider. “o͞h, do̢n͏’t w̵orr̷y. i͠ ͟w͞on͘’͠t do͝ ̕an̕ything̢ to͝ ͢y̛ou ͜jus͠t̡ y͟et.”  
  
Just yet. You felt a shiver run through you, and you laughed nervously. “Well, that’s... I mean, that’s something!” You quickly turned back to your task, trying to wipe that part of the conversation from your mind.  
  
As the rock kindly moved onto the switch when you asked it, you couldn’t suppress the cold feeling you got.  
  
_Just yet_.

  


~

  


Here you were once again, standing in that same area with the small passage between two rooms. You could see Blooky lying on the floor like always, and breathed a sigh of relief. Normalcy.  
  
“so ҉w͟h͠ere’́s t̷he̶ ͢t͟ea̷r͝?” Error immediately asked, running his hand along the wall nearest to the door.  
  
“Oh, it was on that wall” You pointed to the northern wall. “There, but... Flowey told me they move all the time... I told you that, remember?” You meekly added.  
  
He stared at you blankly. “n̢o̡pe. i͏ do͝n͡’͞t̵ ͡rem̵emb́er.̕ ͠şo ͟t͜hen...͝” He’d trailed off, clearly waiting for you to call for Flowey.  
  
“Right! Flowey, are you here??” You called out into the room. When no reply came, you sighed heavily to yourself, staring at the ground.  
  
“so̵ ͠‘̷s̶ ̨t̕his i͠t̨, th͘e̴n?͞” Error was leaning against the wall, his gaze directed solely at you.  
  
“Well... I mean... there’s at least two more places we can look.” You weren’t terribly confident about either, but desperate times called for desperate measures. “One’s just at the end of the Ruins, and the other is...” You trailed off nervously.  
  
“l̸ém͝m͞e ̶g̸u̡e͝ss̛,̕ r̶eall̛y ̨f͜ar͡, ͝ri҉gh̷t̸?”  
  
“Right.” You sighed to yourself. “But, I mean, he definitely has to be there!”  
  
He nodded, righting himself from his lean. “òk͜. ẃe̶ s҉h̸o̸u͘ld ͞get͜ ͜going,͞ t͠h҉e̷n̛!”  
  
“Yeah.” You perked up considerably; at least he was being pretty positive, considering how the situation just seemed to get worse and worse. You marched over to Blooky, leaning down to address the ghost, who was pretending to be asleep. Just speaking to him usually initiated the battle. “Hello!”  
  
...  
.....  
  
Nothing happened. You furrowed your brows. Had Napstablook glitched out, too? You reached down to gently pat the ghost on the shoulder, only for your hand to continue straight through him and to the floor. “Wha?” You stared at your hand, then at the ghost. “He must be... glitched?” Now that you looked closer at him, he wasn’t even moving; he was more like a static piece of the Ruins than anything else.  
  
“m̡us̢t͞ be. yơur ͟ḩan͢d͟ **g̶host̸** r̴ight̵ th͢r͘òưg͏h̴ ҉h͠i͝m.” Error snickered, and you couldn’t help the noise that escaped your lips. You didn’t want to laugh, really; was Blooky was trapped there?  
  
“Do you think he’s... okay?” You asked Error quietly, standing, and cautiously pressing your foot against the ghost. It went right through him.  
  
“proba̕blỳ.̵” Error experimentally called his threads out, attempting to snag Napstablook’s soul in them, only to come up empty. “l͝oo̢ks͠ ͏li͏ke he’҉s h̛a̵v͟i͠ng ̷an͠ ou҉t҉ o̴f ̸ **b̡od̛ỳ** e̶x͏p҉eŗienc͞e͞.͠”  
  
“Pfft.” Another terrible ghost joke. At least it was somewhat re-assuring to know that this thing in front of you couldn’t be Blooky; it had no soul. With that in mind, you walked straight through it. “As long as he’s not hurt, but... it must be **boo** -ring.”  
  
Error laughed at the pun, following you through the ‘ghost’. “d́o҉n’t ̵l̸et͠ ͠the ͜t͞ḩou͟ǵh̵t ́ **ha͞un͞t́** yo͡u͡.̕”  
  
You couldn’t stifle your own laugh escaping you. This was sort of fun, in a sad, twisted way, but... fun, nonetheless. You paused before exiting the room, looking between the door to continue on and the door that led to the Spider Bake Sale; normally you’d have gone and bought some health items, but you hadn’t actually run into any monsters that wanted to battle, and so... you had no gold. No healing items meant you’d have to be extra careful on top of not dying. Exhaling heavily, you exited the room. 

  


~

  


When the two of you arrived in the room outside of Home, you stopped.  
  
“wh̢y̛ ar̨e̡ ̢w͞e͝ ̸st͝o͟p͠pi̸ng?̕” Error asked, glancing between you and the doorway.  
  
“It’s just that...” You stared at your feet, unsure of what to say to Error. You’d have to stay in Toriel’s home for a while, and despite what he’d said earlier about being fine with it, you couldn’t help but be worried. “We’re going to Toriel’s house now.”  
  
“a͝n͠d?͝” He urged you to continue.  
  
“Well, we’ll have to... stay a while. She won’t let us into the basement until we do.”  
  
“if she̛’s͞ ͟ţhere.̴” Error added.  
  
Right. “Yeah. But I mean, is that okay?”  
  
He held his hands out in a shrugging motion. “ỳá got̕ta͟ ͏do ̧ẁh͟at͟ ya ͟g̕o͢tt̡a d͜o,̨ r͟ìght͘?́”  
  
You nodded, and after one last questioning look at Error, you stepped forward into the next room.  
  
You’d never been happier to see Toriel walking towards the two of you, and before she even had a chance to begin speaking you’d run up to her and embraced her in a hug.  
  
“Goodness! How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt?” She hugged you briefly before pulling back enough to get a good look at you.  
  
“No, I’m okay, Toriel.” You laughed. Her disappearance must have been a one-time thing; she seemed perfectly fine now!  
  
“I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible of me to try to surprise you like this.” She chastised herself, and then realizing her mistake quickly covered her mouth with a paw. “Err...”  
  
“a̷ ̵suŗp͏ris̷e̵?̧” You heard Error ask from somewhere behind you.  
  
“Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer.” Toriel was smiling again, this time with a hint of excitement. “Come!” She had turned and walked into Home.  
  
You took the opportunity to turn to Error, still smiling. “Yeah, she’s... gone through a lot of trouble.” You weren’t really sure if Error would be surprised by the goat-monsters kindness, but a part of you didn’t want to ruin Toriel’s hard work.  
  
He gave you a look, one almost like the look he’d given you when you had walked through the long room alone, and you mentally cringed, turning away from him and going into Home.  
  
Was it really so cruel...?


	5. DATA RESTORATION: 20%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> A quick warning this time around, if you dislike reading character death, please STOP reading at the (✮), and continue reading when you see the (✮) again.  
> This DOES NOT mean the character is not dead; it is just a way to avoid reading about how it happened.  
> Also, a quick apology, in case my "action" writing is a little stilted. I still have a bit of trouble writing that sort of thing...  
> Anywho, thank you very much, and please enjoy!!!

**DATA RESTORATION: 20%**  
  
The door opened with a soft creak, and you walked around the side of it and held it open for Error, not wanting to make it look like her door was just holding itself open. You were sure it must have looked incredibly strange to Toriel, but as you carefully closed the door behind him she simply continued on.  
  
The scent of pie hit your nostrils, and you couldn’t help but salivate a little. “Do you smell that?” She asked, a knowing smile on her face. “Surprise! It’s a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here.” She then developed a slightly stricter look. “So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight.”  


You’d never tried snail pie, and you really didn’t want to. Toriel brightened again. “Here, I have another surprise for you.”  
  
She headed off into the hallway to your right, and you followed dutifully. “This is it...” She took hold of your hand once again, her paw warm and soft in your own, and led you to the door you knew as ‘your’ room. “A room of your own. I hope you like it!” You felt her hand release yours in favor of patting your head affectionately. It always felt so good when you came to Home; you felt so loved, so wanted... but at the same time, you knew you couldn’t stay. It was bittersweet.  
  
A burnt scent filled the air, and you could see Error looking down the hallway towards the kitchen. “ùh̕...̷”  
  
Toriel paused as well, noticing the smell. “Is something burning...?” A look of realization crossed her features, and she jumped slightly. “Um, make yourself at home!” And then took off towards the kitchen, Error narrowly avoiding getting run into.  
  
“so҉ wha͏t n͝ow̶?” He looked from you to the room, and you turned the doorknob and carefully entered the room.  
  
It was just like you remembered, just like it was every time. Pastel orange walls, light pink floorboards, stuffed animals, shoes, a comfy bed... without really thinking you walked over to the bed and flopped over on it, Error watching you with a look of curiosity. “Now...” You stretched a little. “We have to sleep here. Well, I mean, I have to sleep here. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”  
  
He sat on the carpet, leaning up against the wall. “i pŕobabl̢y̸ w҉o̶n’̧t. ̵i’m n͢ot much͜ ͘for͏ sl͞eepi̴ńg͘ an͞y̸m͢or̷e.́”  
  
“...Really?” A sans that didn’t like to sleep? “How come?”  
  
“ah, long stóry̡,͢ ͜h̶a̷ ha̵ ͟ha.́..͞” He looked disheartened by the topic, and so you decided to drop it.  
  
“Well, while I’m sleeping maybe you could look around? I mean, Toriel can’t see you, so as long as you don’t do anything too obvious...” You shifted around so the bed covers were pulled down; you really were sort of tired.  
  
“he̛y͘, th̀at̸’s̀ ̡no҉t͟ ̷a ͏b̷ad͝ ̛idea.͘” He smiled, standing and walking over to the door.  
  
As he opened it and stepped into the doorway, his entire body fritzed with static, and he stepped backwards into the room again in surprise, becoming normal once more.  
  
“You can’t... leave the room I’m in?” You stared at him in shock, and he looked at you with slight frustration. “Why?”  
  
“wh͜ó knoẃs̵.̴” He sounded miserable now, and returned to his previous spot on the floor.  
  
“I’m... I’m sorry, Error.” You apologized again, and he laughed a little.  
  
“s̛o̢rr̛y͏ ̨fǫr wha̕ţ?́ ́i me͞an,͜ s’̸n͘o̴t l͜i͡ke̴ ҉you̷ did͢ thi̷s ̧on p̀úrpose,͡ ri̶g̶ht̵?̶”  
  
“No.” You stared down at your lap. “It’s just... I wish I could help you.”  
  
He was silent, and when you looked up at him to see why, he was studying your face intently. “.̛..if͟ ͞you r͟e͏all͠y w҉a̛nna ̢h̴e̴lp̀, ̀then͢ ̨l͘et̡’͘s͡ ̧ke̶e͡p go̸i͝n͘g.” He smiled at you, and you felt sort of warm inside. “go͠ ͝t͜o̢ ̨s͜l͘ęeṕ, a̶nd̷ ̕let̛’͘s͝ g͏e̵t outta h͠e̶r͟ę.̛”  
  
You nodded, burying yourself in blankets. You felt sort of awkward going to sleep with Error in the room, but... somehow it felt safe. He couldn’t let you get hurt, and you would help him get home.  
  
You were determined.  
  
~  
  
You woke up in the darkness of the room, staring at the ceiling. You wondered if Error was still awake, and when you turned your head so you could see, you found his eyes glowing, staring at the floor distantly. You re-adjusted yourself, rolling over so you were fully facing him. “Error...”  
  
“mm͝ḿ?̡” He seemed a little surprised you had woken up, and you could hear him shift.  
  
Something had been bugging you since earlier in the Ruins, and you needed to get it off your chest. “Remember earlier, when we were talking about how I... how Toriel just does the same things over and over...?”  
  
He paused for a little while here, and you could tell by his expression that he was wracking his brain to remember that conversation. “sơŗţa. w҉h̴y?͝”  
  
“Well...” You swallowed thickly. You’d never told anyone about your problems with the resets, not even normal sans, but for some reason you felt like you had to tell Error; like it was unfair to him if you kept it to yourself. “Everyone does them, the same things. So I... I know what everyone’s going to say, going to do, before they even do it.” You finished before you could chicken out.  
  
There was a silence from Error in the dark, but it was more of a ‘go on’ sort of silence than disapproving. So you did go on.  
  
“And it’s... it’s not so much that I **want** them to keep doing it.” You rolled over again, to face the ceiling. This was getting harder to say. “It’s just that, every time I help them, I... I **reset**.”  
  
“you.̸.̵.rese͞t?” You couldn’t tell how he felt about that word, or if he even knew it, but you pressed on.  
  
“And I don’t really know **why** I reset... it’s almost like I just...” You reached out to the ceiling for emphasis. “...forget.” You let your hands fall limp to the bed. It sounded stupid and childish, like an excuse.  
  
There was complete silence for a few beats, and you slowly felt more and more ashamed that you’d told him. Then...  
  
“mayb̛e yo̕u͘’r̛e ͟f͠orgett́i͢ng̛ ̧fǫr ͡a͞ ̕re͡ason.”  
  
He had spoken so quietly, so softly, you almost didn’t catch it. A reason. You turned to face him again, making eye contact.  
  
“...I want to remember, this time.” Your voice filled with determination. “I want to know why I do it.”  
  
You could see his smile from the light of his eyes. “th͝en, ̴re̕mem̨bȩr.”  
  
You couldn’t help but smile, too. It was such a simple answer, yet it was clearly full of thought. Remember.  
  
You curled up a little, starting to feel drowsy again. “Thanks, Error.” You whispered before closing your heavy eyelids. When you woke up, you’d help Error out of here, and then you would keep going on. You **would** remember.  
  
Fast asleep, you didn’t hear Error softly reply to you, resting his head on his knees. “.́..yo͡u’re we͘lc͝o̕m͠e.”

~

You somewhat blearily woke up in the darkness once again, sitting up and stretching.  
  
“mo̸rńi͞n͟’̛”  
  
You started, having forgotten Error was in the room with you, and felt your face flush in embarrassment, hoping you didn’t look too horrible after your rest. Running a hand through your hair, you swung your legs over the side of the bed and stood.  
  
The light flashed on, and when you glanced over, Error had taken it upon himself to turn the lights on in the room again. You smiled and said a quick ‘thanks’ before turning and making the bed up again, leaving it as you found it. It never really made a difference, but... it felt rude to leave the bed a mess.  
  
“Are you ready?” You asked Error, stretching an arm.  
  
“ýep͜.͝” He was smiling too, and holding the door open for you.  
  
You started to exit the room, mentally preparing yourself for one of the hardest parts of the Ruins; telling Toriel you didn’t want to stay anymore. “Wait...” You suddenly paused, eyebrows furrowing, and you turned to Error. “Didn’t Toriel leave a piece of pie in here?” She always did that.  
  
He shook his head at you. “n̕ope. ́a̸ctu̸ally, i͡ ̴h̴a͞vȩn͟’t eve̡n h̸e̴a̛ŗd͢ an̡y̧t̢híńg ͠fr̡o̴m̴ her̴.”  
  
That was weird. You left the room in a bit of a hurry, Error lightly complaining behind you about ‘being careful’ and ‘not knowing what would happen if he got left behind’, but you were more focused on Toriel. Had she just vanished again?  
  
She wasn’t in her usual chair, and when you bobbed your head into the kitchen there was nothing but a pie on the counter. You debated if it would be rude to take a piece with you for healing, especially when Toriel’s whereabouts were unknown. You’d eventually settled on taking some; it was better than getting badly injured and unable to heal yourself.  
  
“so,͢ d̸i̵d҉ ̵s͢he ͠j͟u̕st̡ ͝diśap͠ṕe͡ar ag̀ain͠?̛” Error asked from the doorway, watching you carefully take some pie and place in your INVENTORY.  
  
“I don’t know.” You answered truthfully, staring out at the living room. “I mean, there’s her room, but she’s **never** been in there.” He raised a brow-bone at that, and you felt a little embarrassed. “Maybe she went down to the basement already...” If she was down there, you’d have to stop her.  
  
You picked up your pace, practically half-running to the stairs. “hey,̛ ́h͞ang ̷on͝ a͡ s̵ècon̢d!” Error chased after you, seemingly not wanting to test if the new ‘same room’ rule applied to everything.  
  
You went down the stairs two at a time, and probably would have out-paced Error if you hadn’t tripped on the last step and landed gracefully onto your face. You could hear him stifle a laugh as you sat up with a pained groan, and come to a stop beside you. “se̕e?̴ t̸hat́’s w̕h͠at̵ h͜a̵p̛pe͡ns ͢w͠he̷n̷ y͡ou̵ ģèt t͡oo ͞e͞x͜c̸ited.”  
  
“Yeah, but...” You used the Basement wall to help yourself stand. “If she’s down here too long, she might destroy the door out.”  
  
“ẃh̵at?͞!?” He blanched, and looked on ahead. “how fa̷r͜ i̢s ͢s͜he?”  
  
“Not too much, just a little more!” You shook off the pain in your body and hurried ahead.

✮

You froze when you heard a series of strange blips unlike anything you’d heard before, and looked at Error. He shrugged his shoulders at you, clearly just as confused about their origin, and you ventured forward more cautiously. Was it more glitches?  
  
You rounded the corner to the room with the door, the room you’d always SPARE Toriel in until she allowed you out. Nothing had changed in the room; it all looked exactly as it had before, with only one glaring exception.  
  
You stared in horror at the amalgamation that stood before you now. It was Toriel, but... half her face was gone, replaced with an almost deranged looking white eye and data streaming from half of her mouth like smoke. Her left arm was far too low down, bent over and touching the ground in an animalistic manner, and her legs were bent at an odd angle.  
  
There was no conversation, no warning. Just your soul suddenly being wrenched from your chest and into battle.  
  
“StOp LoOkInG aT mE tHaT wAy.” The voice was close to her own, but seemingly came from nowhere.  
  
“c̸r̨a͡p.” Error swore, his eyes wide.  
  
She raised up her normal arm and summoned an array of fireballs that launched at your still frozen form. Realizing you weren’t moving, Error quickly utilized his threads to force you to move out of the way, sending you toppling unceremoniously to the floor to Toriel’s far left.  
  
“w̷h̨at a̕r͟e ̴y̧ou doin̷g?!̛?͟” Error once again pulled you out of the way, this time backwards. He tried to snag Toriel’s soul, but the threads flew straight through her. “n̵n̸n̷ǹnn̛!̛ ̡wḩy?!?̕”  
  
“I... Toriel... this... this isn’t right...” Why was this happening? This had **never** happened. You stared at Error searchingly, begging for him to tell you the answer.  
  
“look̡, i r̵e͘ally ̡d̨on’̴t̛ know̴!͠ ͢bu̸t̡ ͘you͟ ca̢n’̧t̛- “ He quickly jumped out of the way, dragging you with him, when Toriel swung her left arm at you and smashed a hole in the floor of the ruins.  
  
“wE cAn HaVe A gOoD lIfE hErE.” The voice penetrated your brain. It hurt to think.  
  
“y͜o̵u҉ ̴can’t ͏j̵ust quit̢ ̷no͟w!͞!͡!͘ w͘ȩ c̢a̛n’t̵ ̡d̨ie here!͠!̴” He was glitching from the amount of emotion behind his voice, and it was almost like you’d been snapped out of a trance.  
  
He was right. You had to face her. You had to save him.  
  
You stood and dodged out of the way just in time to avoid her arm again, watching it hit the wall from the corner of your eye. You backed to a safe distance, nervously eyeing Toriel, and Error, who was at the far left of the room, still holding the threads for your soul taut.  
  
“How do we beat her, Error?!?” You called out to him, preparing yourself when you saw her readying another fireball attack.  
  
“d̨e͟ĺet͜e ͡h́er̨?” He shouted back, though it sounded more like a statement than a question. He had a rather pleased look on his face, and you found yourself having to converse with him while avoiding the homing magic.  
  
“I-I don’t want to-“ You ducked very low, feeling the searing heat of a fireball that just barely missed you. “-to kill her!”  
  
“į f͝eel̶ yo̡u̧,҉ i͘ rea̴l͡ly̛ ͜do͠.͜” He raised his arms then pulled downwards suddenly, causing the threads to snap you higher up to help you avoid a low swing of Toriel’s arm. “b́ut i̢ don̢’͝t̢ ́t̡h́i͟nk t̷ḩis̢ ͜is̷ ̕‘Tór̨i͞e͠l̛’̨ anym҉o͞re!”  
  
It wasn’t, was it? You huffed, half bent over from exertion. She never fought you with this much intent to kill. “Toriel!” You tried calling out to the motherly monster, desperately grasping to who you remembered her as; sweet, loving and beautiful, always caring to a fault. “Please, Toriel! I don’t want to FIGHT you!”  
  
The glitched half of her face twitched violently. “WhAt ArE yOu PrOvInG tHiS wAy?” She attacked again, this time with stronger fireballs. One of them errantly flew off, clipping Error as he attempted to avoid it. He reeled slightly from the blow, the threads around your soul following and causing you to fall forward. Toriel took the opportunity to strike you hard, swinging her left arm into the midst of the fireballs, and your body wracked with pain as you landed against the wall.  
  
“wHy ArE yOu MaKiNg ThIs So DiFfIcUlT?” She was slowly making her way towards you, dragging her left arm behind her. It was now covered in flames from her own attack, releasing a horrible burnt fur smell into the air. You managed to prop yourself against the wall, checking over at Error to make sure he was okay; you knew sans didn’t have much HP. He was leaned a little against the wall too, looking a little glitchier than usual, but otherwise was fine.  
  
Toriel stopped suddenly, staring at you with an empty expression, before slowly turning to stare at the spot Error was standing in. She made a horrible, incomprehensible noise, like a cross between a low screech and metal grinding, before reeling back her flaming arm and aiming directly for Error.  
  
He wasn’t moving. Why wasn’t he moving?!? He couldn’t get out of the way in time. You did the only thing you could think of; you grabbed the threads around your own soul and threw yourself backwards, further into the room, wrenching hard on them.  
  
Your body exploded with pain, but your spur of the moment plan worked, because Error had suddenly jerked to the side from the force, and almost as though he suddenly realized what was happening he moved, Toriel’s arm instead becoming embedded in the Basement wall.  
  
“Why didn’t you move?!?” You choked out once you caught your breath, looking up at where he now stood beside you.  
  
“i͜ di͏d͠n’̕t.͞.. i ̡d̢idn͝’ţ s͡ee.̷..̴” He was watching Toriel attempting to remove her arm from the wall. “loo̢ḱ,͜ i k͢no̴w͟ ̨y͠ou͢ li̵k͝e ̸her̴ a͠n͠d̛ ͜eve͘ry̨thing͘, ̵b҉ut́ ̵y͜o̧u͠ ́c͡a̛n̷’͞t ͏keep̨ ̀thi̸s up.”  
  
He was right. You couldn’t. You were hurting so bad, one more shot would kill you.  
  
“..̡.̸i̕ ͠ think i can ̢do i҉t.͝” He volunteered himself for the unspoken task. You curled your hand onto your soul, feeling a different kind of pain course through you, but...  
  
You closed your eyes tightly. You felt your cheeks get wet.  
  
You nodded.  
  
You heard the sound of something new, a sort of tearing noise, followed by a series of loud blasts from the air around you.  
  
_I’m sorry..._  
  
Then silence.  
  
You opened your eyes to see the now lifeless Toriel frizzing in and out of existence, her arm still trapped in the wall, but the rest of her limp. You stood shakily, approaching her.  
  
“Toriel...” You tried to hold in your sobs.  
  
She shifted her head to look at you, the normal half smiling warmly. “No, I uNdErStAnD. yOu WoUlD jUsT bE uNhApPy TrApPeD dOwN hErE. tHe RuInS aRe VeRy SmAlL oNcE yOu GeT uSeD tO tHeM.”  
  
You choked on a sob. Why was this happening? Why?!?  
  
“mY eXpEcTaTiOnS... mY lOnElInEsS... mY fEaR... fOr YoU, mY cHiLd... I wIlL pUt ThEm AsIdE.” She slowly and shakily reached her good arm to touch you, not quite making it before blipping out of existence.  
  
You fell to your knees, staring at where she used to be.  
  
_I’m sorry..._  
  
You collapsed forward onto the ground, burying your face in your arms and sobbing.  
  
Error walked over to your curled up form and sat down near you.  
  
_I’m sorry._

~

✮

You weren’t sure how long you’d sat on the floor, crying, but Error had been surprisingly patient about it. He hadn’t said or done anything to try and comfort you, but even that lack of action was good enough. You just needed to let out the emotion, and now that you had, you felt sort of... empty. You wiped your cheeks dry on your clothes, and ran a hand through your hair.  
  
“Sorry. I didn’t... I didn’t mean to do that.”  
  
“wh͢a͝t?̵ ̛cr҉y͢?” He laughed nervously. “w͘h͜ate͡v̸e̶r. i m̸ea͠n,̶ wha̵t̡ev͠e͢r̶ ͢he͡l͘ps,̸ r̛i̧gh̢t͢?” He was very obviously uncomfortable, and so you tried to lighten him up by smiling weakly.  
  
“Yeah. I guess we should...” You sniffled, and stood up shakily. “We should get going, right?” Your heart and your head hurt.  
  
He didn’t say anything, but mirrored your motion, standing as well. You pushed the heavy violet doors open and followed Error into the long, shaded hallway to the last room of the Ruins. “Thanks. For... saving me.” You rubbed your arm. He **did** sort of save you; you probably would have died trying to get Toriel to listen. You felt a sharp pang of guilt and sadness as you remembered her dying words, but quickly pushed it all back down, swallowing hard.  
  
“n̵o҉ pŗoble̕m̛.” He smiled quite happily. “it’̢s͝ ̢m͠y ̸job to do͡ ̶stu̵f͡f ĺi̴k͜e͜ th͜at̸.͘ ̧i’m̵ ̀j͏ust g̛l͠a͠d̶ i co̢u̸l͢d͜ ̢s͝ti̷ll śum̵mon̡ my͜ b͏last̡e̷rs͏.” He chuckled to himself. His attitude towards killing Toriel sort of stung.  
  
“So you just kill people, huh...?” You asked in a more sour tone than you’d thought you were using.  
  
“not pe̷òp͠ļe͞.” He calmly corrected you. “gl͜itçhes͘. the͢y aren͝’t ͘r̴e͏al.͠”  
  
For some reason that felt like a punch in the gut, and all you could do to keep from reeling in anger was to keep your mouth shut. She was real. She had been your friend so many times now, come to your rescue so many times now. Who was **he** to decide that?  
  
“So does that make us ‘not real’?” Crap. You’d lashed out anyways, studiously avoiding looking in his direction as you walked to the last room.  
  
“ha̡ ́h̶a h́a,͡ ̵i m҉a͝y be a͜ ̨glitch͠,͝ ̶but a̛t l̢east i͟’͢m͏ t̨r̴y̕i̴n̶’ to f͠i͠x ̵thin̷gs͠.̡” He replied, still sounding cheerful, but with a dark edge to his voice. “a̴nd͜ ͝f̶o̢r ̕y̛où.̕..҉ i hav͠e̶ no i͢d͞ea if yo̧u̷’̶r̷e ŗe̴a̢l͝ ̵oŕ ̷ņot́, b͡ut..͏.͡ f̶o̵r͝ now͏,͠ ͞you͢’͟re̶ fi̵ņe̕.̕”  
  
There it was again, the forebodingly unspoken statement. He would kill you eventually. All your anger had dissipated, instead being replaced with sorrow and hopelessness. “Then what difference does it make?” You asked sadly. “If I’m going to die anyways, why shouldn’t I just die here and now?” You knew how to do it, it wasn’t difficult.  
  
Error seemed to falter in his logic at this. “i..̡.͘ ̶i ͠dón̢’t real͟ly kno̵w.̡”  
  
You paused and looked back at him.  
  
“i ̸me͘an.̡.̶.̶” He wasn’t looking at you anymore, instead looking off to his right, his smile gone. “į ͠ex̡p̶e͢c̵te̵d͞ ̸ỳou ̧to ju̷s͢t fi̡n̕d͏ some̡ w̢a̧y to k͜i̵ll me̸, o҉ŕ e͞v̛e͝n̕ ͘let ̡t͝h̛at ͢ot̕he̶r͜ ̀glit̴c͞h ͏do̴ i̸t̕. ͠b̕ut ͞it’s ͢a͝l͝mos̷t̷ ͟li͟ke yoù...͡ ̷d͏on͞’t w͘a̧n̵t͡ ̛m̸e ͠t͞o̸ d͡i̛e͢.”  
  
You couldn’t help but laugh sadly to yourself; he’d hit that nail square on the head. You didn’t want him to die, even after all this, all of the thinly veiled threats. You still couldn’t stand the thought of someone dying, especially because of something you had done. “Yeah... guess I am pretty messed up, huh?” You began walking again, and a silence fell between the two of you.  
  
As you entered the last room, you weren’t even shocked anymore when Flowey wasn’t there. You’d expected the worst case scenario; after all, that was all that had happened for you so far. You walked right past the beam of light, not even bothering to call for Flowey. He wouldn’t come.  
  
“hey̵.”  
  
Error had called out to you, and you turned to find him standing in the middle of the room, staring at you. “ev̡èn̸ i̴f, ̛i̷n ̕t̶h̛e͢ ͢en̸d͘.̕.́.” He didn’t finish that part of his sentence, but continued on. “y̶o҉u͜’re ͞st́il̛l̷, y̧’k͘n̡ow.҉.. som̷et͜hing. ̸th̢at t͞h̨in҉g i͢ ̷ki͢l̢l̶ȩd́, i̧t̢ was͡ **n͘ot̢h̡ing͘.** bu͟t̡...҉” He raised his hand, using the threads to gently pull your soul out in front of you. “y̵ou̸’͢re͟ ̢ **s͢ome̕th̕i̶ng͡,** śeè?͜”  
  
You stared at your soul, then back at him. You didn’t quite get it, and he looked sort of frustrated and embarrassed.  
  
“i̢ ̀co̕u͝ldn͜’̵t̛... t͏h͏át ͟thińg ͝had ̢ņo̶th͜in͟g̸ ̀i̕n͞sid̨e͜ ͠it̸.̢ **y̴ou’͢ve̛** got͜ ҉a ҉so͞ul̴. y͟ou’̵re̢ ̛ **r͜e͠ál**.͟” He seemed to be really struggling with his train of thought, causing himself to glitch more. You cut him off by tugging on a thread, not wanting to see him freak himself out.  
  
“Error, it’s... it’s okay. I’m okay.” You smiled at him. It wasn’t much of a re-assuring, but somehow it helped. He was right; you were real. This was real. And once it was all over, you could reset. You could see your friends again as they were supposed to be; you could save them by resetting.  
  
He nodded after a minute, and released the threads from your soul, approaching you. “so̶ ͘yo͢u’r̀e ̧good͝ ̨to ̢ḱéęp g͡oin’̛?”  
  
“I think so.” You said quietly, taking in a deep breath and exhaling. “Flowey’s not here, so that means the only other place he could be is at the end, by the Barrier.” You paused for any questions, and when you got none, you continued. “We’re going to have to cover a lot of ground to get there. Sorry.”  
  
Error shrugged your apology off. “do͟n̡’t be̛.͟ ͡no̕t̨ ͞mu̡ch ei͏t̸he͞r̀ of̢ ͝u͜s ͠c̀an̕ ̸do̷ ҉a̶bout i̛t͜, ͠hu̕h͢?͟” He was smiling in that carefree manner you saw him doing sometimes, and it lightened your mood a little.  
  
“Yeah.” You turned to face the last door out of the Ruins. “Shall we?”  
  
“le͏ád̷ on͟.́”  
  
After all, things would be fine. They just _had_ to be, eventually. 


	6. DATA RESTORATION: 30%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very quickly before the next chapter:  
> Thank you so much, everybody for all the kudos and comments! I'll do my best!!

**DATA RESTORATION: 30%**

You pushed the door open, giving Error a chance to step out into the cold before you let it swing shut again, magically sealing itself.  
  
The cool air of the snowscape had always been so incredibly refreshing, especially after the emotional rollercoaster of SPAREing, and leaving Toriel behind.  
  
Now, however, it felt almost... suffocating. Sad. Like you’d lost something you’d never get back. And in a way, you had, hadn’t you? Toriel wouldn’t come back, not this playthrough. She was gone.  
  
“h́èy͏, s͡o̧ we͞ k͠e͜ep ͠g͘o̢ing͏ f̛ǫrw҉ar͘d,̸ r̀i͢g͏h͏t̵?̀”  
  
Error’s voice broke you from your reverie, and you looked forward at the path ahead, a small smile forming on your face. “Yeah. We’re going to meet... sans...” How was that going to work? After all, wasn’t Error technically sans?  
  
“mm͡m.͡” He made a non-committal sound, not nearly as concerned about the situation as you were.  
  
“So... will it mess anything up...?” You continued on, reluctant to go forward. You liked sans. He was funny.  
  
“no̸pe.”  
  
You raised a brow at the speed of his answer.“...You sound like you’re pretty sure.”  
  
“o̡f c͏o̧u͝rs͟e̡. ̛i’vȩ b̛ee͟n͡ ̵a͘ lot ̸of̶ p̡lace͠s̸.̸” He began walking, and you caught up with him, rubbing your arms a little from the cold.  
  
“Oh, like... in your work?”  
  
“y̕e͡a̸h͞!̢ how d̕i̶ḑ ͝you̢ kn̛ǫẃ ͢ab͞o̕u̴t i̛t?͡” He smiled at you, genuinely interested.  
  
“You umm... you told me.” You carefully stepped over a branch. Error barely broke his stride, stepping over it with an almost practiced ease.  
  
“d̶id i͞.̷..̸?̧” He looked up at the sky, trying to remember. “huh̷.” It was literally in the last room that you’d talked about it, how could he have already forgotten?  
  
“Your memory’s not... too great, huh?” You casually asked, kicking a bit of snow. You heard the branch snap a small distance behind you.  
  
“h̨a̧, ̶n͠o̵pe.̢” His positivity was infectious; even when he was talking about something considered a fault, he just sort of took it in stride. For some reason, you felt... jealous.  
  
“Oh! There’s the gate!” You announced excitedly, running up to the small bridge. You laughed, running a hand over one of the wooden bars. “It’s always way too big!”  
  
“h͏e̵h̴..̷.” Error had a sort of melancholic look on his face as he watched you. You’d intended to ask him something, but were interrupted by a voice from behind the both of you.  
  
“Human. Don’t you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand.”  
  
Your eyes widened in slight surprise, but you were quickly overcome with happiness as you turned quickly and pre-empted the handshake by instead hugging sans. He stumbled backwards slightly from the weight, but laughed nervously and patted your back. “heh, geez, kiddo! if i’d known i’d get such a good reaction, i’d have tried that sooner.”  
  
“Sorry!” You laughed into the hood of his jacket. “I’m just... I’m happy to see you, that you’re okay.” You peeled yourself from him, righting your clothes.  
  
“same to you.” He nodded, and you gave him a quick once over; there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with him. It was sans, just sans. It filled you with relief.  
  
“so, who’s your friend?” You froze. “he looks a little ‘ ** _sans_** ’ data.” sans winked, his eyes focused on Error, who stood next to you.  
  
“You can see him?!?” You asked in shock, looking between Error and sans. Error looked a little uncomfortable and nervous, but sans looked relaxed, his smile taking on a rather lazy quality.  
  
“sure. i’ve heard about other timelines.” He shrugged casually. “though i guess seein’ another version of ‘me’ doesn’t make too much **sans**.”  
  
Error snorted in laughter, unable to keep it in, and you continued to stare at a loss. Well, should you really have been so surprised? sans always had a very acute sense of the world around him; of course he would have realized Error was a version of him.  
  
“really, though...” He continued when you said nothing, this time giving you a decidedly serious look. “what’s the deal? ‘cause if he’s just here to cause trouble...” His voice had a bit of an edge, and you waved your hands at him in panic.  
  
“No, no, no!! He’s not!! We’re just... we’re trying to get him home!” You explained in the quickest terms you could. You didn’t want to see what would happen to **you** if Error died.  
  
When he continued to stare, Error shrugged nonchalantly, though found himself unable to meet sans’ gaze. After a few more moments, sans finally relaxed, looking back at you. “well, i’m not sure if there’s a whole lot i can do to help, but feel free to ask.” He gave you a mischievous look. “s’long as it doesn’t require too much work.”  
  
You laughed at that, relaxing as well. “Fair enough.”  
  
“whoops, here comes pap. c’mon.” sans suddenly pushed you through the gate, grabbing your arm and dragging you not to the lamp, but his sentry stand instead. “since you’ve got a buddy, ya might need a bigger space.” You nodded at the logic, ducking below the stand. When you looked back at Error and motioned him to crouch to, you noticed he’d been giving sans a strange, almost angry look, before he ducked down behind the stand.  
  
He was as far away from you as he could be while still remaining hidden by the wooden front of the station, grumbling about ‘having to hide when the guy probably couldn’t even see him’. You couldn’t help your whispered retort.  
  
“sans could see you. We don’t know who can, and who can’t.”  
  
And he went silent, staring off in a different direction than yours. You sighed a little to yourself, settling your head on your knees. Why had you thought you needed to save Error? He certainly didn’t seem like he needed saving right now; if anything he was more together through all of this than you were.  
  
Your train of thought was interrupted by the sudden presence of a loud voice.  
  
“YOU KNOW WHAT “SUP”, BROTHER! IT’S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN’T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES. YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION!” You could hear the exasperation in Papyrus’ voice. “WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!?”  
  
sans replied in his usual calm and carefree manner. “i’ve been working. why don’t you go check out my station? you’ll see.”  
  
“NO!! I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?!” You could hear Papyrus stomping his foot unhappily, and had to stifle a laugh at the mental image. Error raised a brow bone at you, but otherwise didn’t ask. “I WANT TO BE READY!!! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE!” You could practically tell he had switched to his “cool” pose when you heard his scarf flapping, and it took everything in you not to peek around the corner of the station to get a look. “I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS... WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT...” He must have been posing slightly differently, as he paused. “RECOGNITION...” Another pause, and another likely shift in pose. “I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, “FRIEND?” I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING.”  
  
That part always made you laugh a little, and you had to fight to hold it back.  
  
sans spoke again. “hmm... maybe checking out my station will help you.”  
  
“SANS!! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!! YOU LAZYBONES!!” Papyrus dismissed him immediately. ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!!!”  
  
“hey, take it easy. i’ve gotten a ton of work done today.” He paused, and you stiffened, waiting for the pun. “a skele-ton.” Error let out a small, barely audible puff of air that sounded a little like a laugh.  
  
“SANS!!!” Papyrus shouted in what you were certain was fake insult.  
  
“come on. you’re smiling.” You could hear that his grin had gotten wider.  
  
“I AM AND I HATE IT! SIGH...” You could hear his voice had taken a sadder quality to it. “WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME... HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION...”  
  
“wow, sounds like you’re really working yourself...” Another pause for effect, and you braced yourself again. “down to the bone.” There was that quiet, barely there laugh from Error.  
  
“UGH!!!” The noise had a long-suffering tone that you knew was fake. After all, despite how much he pretended to hate his brother’s puns, he loved his brother. “I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES... AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE” Papyrus paused for a short second. ““BACKBONE” INTO IT!!!!”  
  
This time Error made a choking sound and laughed, loud. Thankfully, Papyrus himself had begun loudly laughing too, and the noise must have drowned Error out because the tall skeleton had run off to the next area without stopping.  
  
You breathed a sigh of relief that you hadn’t known you were holding in, and began laughing, too. If anything, this was always one of your favorite sequences to go through; the banter between sans and Papyrus was always guaranteed to make you laugh and lift your spirits.  
  
You stood, Error following the motion and laughing sheepishly. “go͏t͞ t͞o ̵b͟é ̷ą ͢ļittle t̵o͏o m̷uc̴h͡ ̶fo͜r ̵m͜e.̨”  
  
You nodded in understanding, finishing out your own laugh, too. “It’s okay.”  
  
“glad to see ya still appreciate jokes.” sans hadn’t moved from his spot, but was watching you and Error. “so, what’re your plans?”  
  
“Well...” You shifted a little when you began thinking about it; it was a long way to go. “We’re going to go all the way to the barrier. We need to...” You hesitated to tell sans, but he was giving you the kind of look that meant he wouldn’t drop it unless you did. “...”  
  
“we͢’̡r̵e͝ ͞g̛o͜ǹn̕a g͡o͡ f̸ind̛ ̕t̕hat ͢flower͡.͞” Error finished for you, a strange edge to his voice.  
  
sans’ expression darkened considerably, and you felt nervous. “that’s pretty dangerous, you know.”  
  
“w͠ell...” Error shrugged, smiling a little wider. “i gotta͠ ̵g̛ȩt ǫut o̡f̢ ͠he̸re͘ ̛so͏męhow͏,͘ ̕rįg̕h͘ţ? but̸ ̢i ͏m͏ęán...̵” He lifted his hand, summoning his threads. “i̛ cąn̶ a̶lwa̷ys̀ s͝ta̶y͝ ḩere if ͟y̸o̷u̡ ̵w͢ąǹt. me͢ss̨i̸ng͟ ̵th͠is̕ ͢plac̵e͢ ͝u̡p͢ ͡i҉s ͢fi͞ne wįth m̨e.̴”  
  
It was an empty threat, you knew; if he destroyed this world, he probably wouldn’t be able to get out of it. Then again...  
  
“Um!” You stepped in between both sans’ lines of vision, trying to physically prevent this conversation from going any further. “So! Papyrus is probably up ahead!”  
  
It took a minute, but sans’ expression returned to normal. “yeah. if you wanna do me a favor...” He inclined his head to the path Papyrus had run down. “do the usual?”  
  
You nodded. “Of course!” Papyrus was great, and there was nothing better than seeing him so happy to finally find a human.  
  
“cool, thanks.” sans turned back towards the bridge, but paused. “and hey, me...” He turned his head partially around, regarding Error with blue magic flaring from his eye. “ **don’t screw around with my brother.** ” No jokes, no casual demeanor. Just a dark seriousness that made you shiver. As sans walked away, Error simply tilted his head a little, his smile quirking up into a smirk.  
  
~  
  
“Really, I mean, did you **have** to antagonize him...?” You asked somewhat meekly as the two of you continued on. Error frowned a little at the statement, and you couldn’t help but flinch slightly.  
  
“i͝ was̡n̷’̛t.͢ ̀i̡ ̢wa̴s ͞just͜ tell̵i̴ng̛ h͏įm̛ ͜t͝he t̀r̀ut͝h.̡”  
  
“Yeah, but...” Well, you didn’t really have a good defense to that. **You** probably wouldn’t have told sans the truth; Honestly, you had been fighting with that fact since the situation had come up. Since when did you ever consider outright lying to sans?  
  
_Sometimes the truth isn’t good._  
  
The thought had startled you enough that you stopped walking, and Error gave you a quizzical look.  
  
“w̸h͞at ̕a͝r̶e ͘you d̸o̸i̵nǵ?҉”  
  
“Oh, uh... nothing. Just remembered something.” You quickly covered up, laughing awkwardly and heading forward again. Where had that thought come from? “Hey, we’re about to see Papyrus and sans again.” You forewarned Error, turning to face him.  
  
“a̴n̨d̕?̷” He was smiling casually, but you could see the hint of mischief.  
  
“Please just... don’t start anything.” You sighed, running a hand through your hair and heading forward.  
  
“wh̶en̡ ̵h͜av̷e̢ ͢i̡ ͘ever?” He retorted, and you could tell he thought your statement was funny.  
  
Before you could half-heartedly scold him, you paused when you heard Papyrus speaking again.  
  
“SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE,”  
  
There was a moment of silence as the four of you looked at each other from across the passage of trees. You could’ve sworn you could hear the snow falling on the ground.  
  
“SANS!! OH MY GOD!! IS THAT...” Papyrus looked absolutely enthralled, turning to sans. “A HUMAN!?!?!??!?!”  
  
So he **couldn’t** see Error.  
  
sans stared at you, then looked back at Papyrus. “uhhhh... actually, i think that’s a rock.”  
  
You couldn’t stop the embarrassing snort that came from you, and when your face flushed you could hear Error chuckle from nearby you, making you even more embarrassed.  
  
“OH.” Papyrus sounded crestfallen, and sans spoke up again.  
  
“hey, what’s that in front of the rock?”  
  
Papyrus’ eye sockets widened in excitement. “OH MY GOD!!!” But then he squinted, turning to sans, and whispered loudly. “(IS... IS THAT A HUMAN)”  
  
sans, playing along, whispered back. “(yes)”  
  
The tall skeleton practically exploded in joy at this point, and your cheeks hurt from smiling so much. “OH MY GOD!!! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT!!” He was beside himself now, having become so worked up. “UNDYNE WILL... I’M GONNA... I’LL BE SO...” He paused for breath (could he breathe?) here, before shouting again. “POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!!”  
  
Almost as though realizing you were still there, he cleared his throat a bit awkwardly before puffing out his chest. “HUMAN! YOU AND YOUR... BLURRY FRIEND??? SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA!”  
  
He continued on as he usually did, but you didn’t hear it. Your mind had stopped at “Blurry friend”; Papyrus **could** see Error?!? When you looked over at him, he seemed just as disconcerted as you, but noticing your gaze he quickly recovered.  
  
When you had tuned back in to Papyrus’ speech, he was already running off to his puzzles laughing happily, sans watching him.  
  
“well, that went... ok.” sans announced when Papyrus had gone, turning to face you and Error. You approached sans, a frown on your face.  
  
“Papyrus... he can see Error?”  
  
“guess so. s’that unusual?” sans was staring at Error again in a way that made you uneasy, and so you once again stood between the two.  
  
“A little. It’s not... not important, though.” You grabbed the sleeve of sans’ jacket to pull his attention back to you. “So, do you think... you could give us a hand with some of Papyrus’ puzzles? We need to get to the barrier pretty fast.”  
  
sans studied your face for a moment, then relaxed. “heh, takin’ the easy way out? i like that. i’ll see what i can do for some of the stuff he’s less excited about.” He turned, heading off in the direction Papyrus had gone. “no promises, though.” He casually waved a hand before walking around a tree and vanishing.  
  
“p̴uzz͡leş, hu̴h?” You and Error continued on, your feet crunching in the snow.  
  
“Yeah. Papyrus always sets up a bunch of funny puzzles to try and catch me.” You smiled warmly at the memories. Even though some of the puzzles were a little dangerous... “He’s never hurt me with them, though. Not even accidentally.”  
  
“y̕e̴ah..́.” Error laughed softly, staring at the ground. “hȩ’̸s nev̕e͜r mu͏ch͏ ̡o̵f̕ ͏a ķi̸l̵l̢er.”  
  
You looked sadly over at Error. “Did you... umm...” You trailed off, unsure how to broach the subject of Papyrus delicately; did Error have a brother, too? Or was he sad because he didn’t? Before you could gather up enough courage, you noticed you had arrived at Doggo’s station. “Oh, wait!” You grabbed the sleeve of Error’s jacket to halt his movement, quickly letting go when he had stopped.  
  
Slowly, Doggo peeked his head from behind his station, eyeing the space in front of him shiftily.  
  
“Did something move?” He squinted his eyes. “Was it my imagination?” He leaned up a little further, surveying more of his area. “I can only see moving things. If something WAS moving... For example, a human...” He hopped over the station, sniffing around you and Error, before pausing decidedly in front of you. “I’ll make sure it NEVER moves again!”  
  
You could feel your soul being pulled out for battle, and were still a little jarred at the sight of the threads attached, but quickly recovered. You’d have to just get used to it, for now. “We have to stay still!” You quickly hissed to Error, watching Doggo’s ears perk at the noise.  
  
“Don’t move an inch!” He tossed a blue dagger, the magic passing harmlessly through you. Error suddenly had a mischievous look on his face that you didn’t like. You gave him a look, and he just smiled innocently back at you, playing with the loose threads on one of his hands. Doggo was looking around a little suspiciously, then, when he seemed to relax, you moved forward to pet him.  
  
Instead, Doggo was jerked backwards, falling onto his butt. You stared in disbelief as he sat up, completely alerted now. “WHAT!!! I’M UNDER ATTACK!!!” Before he could launch anymore attacks, he was pulled into an upright position, and, for lack of a better term, began... dancing. He was barking in panic now, every once in a while shouting a word like “WHAT” “WHERE” “WHO”, and from somewhere behind you, you could hear Error laughing hard.  
  
You turned to Error, a very unimpressed look on your face, but that only seemed to make him laugh harder. “c̕-c͞’̸m͘on!͟ t̢h͠at’s ̀pr͠e͜tt͏y ͞fu̶n͞n͟y, ͢ki͡d͠!” He was holding one hand to his gut, the other still making Doggo dance.  
  
Okay, so maybe it **was** funny. Just a little. But it really wasn’t helping, was it? You sighed. “Error...”  
  
“i͠ ͟kn͞ow, i kn͠ow.͘” He wiped a tear of joy from his eye, and dropped the threads attached to Doggo’s soul, causing the sentry to fall into a heap on the ground.  
  
“S-S-S-Something attacked me... Something that isn’t m-m-moving...” He dove behind the sentry station again, peering in horror over the table. “I’m gonna need some dog treats for this!!!” He slid back down into the station.  
  
“...That really wasn’t the way I saw this going.” You stared at the station.  
  
“oh?͢ if y͘óu ͜wan̛t ҉i c͟ań ̶m͞áke hi̢m̛ com̶e ̶ou̴t̢ ̷a̶g̷a͟in͞...” Error had a sly look on his face, already knowing the answer you were going to give him.  
  
“No!!! It’s fine, really! Let’s go!!” You ventured on, a chuckling Error following behind.  
  
~  
  
There was a large patch of ice in this area. You glanced nervously back at Error. Sure, you could avoid it, but... would you look kind of stupid taking the long way around? It wasn’t that you were **bad** on ice, you just weren’t particularly **good** on ice. No amount of playthroughs ever seemed to increase your skill at staying upright the entire time.  
  
“..̸.͟yo͠u lost o͟r͘ so̕m̧e͠t͜h͏i͜n’?” Error asked, eyeing you with an air of nervousness.  
  
“Huh? No.” You turned back to the ice. You were a big human. You could handle this. “Okay.” You took a step onto the ice, and began sliding forward. So far, so good.  
  
Oh, you were tilting a little to the left. You corrected by leaning right.  
  
Actually, you **over** -corrected by leaning right.  
  
You could feel the ground beneath you vanish, and your back hit the ice with a decisive ‘thump’.  
  
Silence.  
  
“...r̢e̸a͜l͘ly͞?̡” You heard from your right, and you could feel your face heating up as you covered it with your hands. “i ́me͜ąn,͝ i’͢v̷e҉ ̧see̢n̵ ́y͢o͏u ̵dodge so̸m̨e͘ ̷pr͜e͡tty̵ ͢sh̨aky̛ ̛s͞tu̵f͝f͟. ͘but́ ̕a ̛li͏ttl̴ę ice̢?̸” He sounded closer now, and you pulled your hands away, frowning at him.  
  
And then you were struck with a brilliant idea. You sat up slowly, hiding your gradual smile. “I **snow**. Pretty un **cool** , right?”  
  
You plan worked, and you could hear Error laughing as he stood up straight, easily skating a little ways away from you. Show off. “ **c͠h̸ill͠** ou̴t͝, ͏i̶t’̴s͢ ̵no̷t ̢a big de̷a͘l.” He did a bit of a fancy turn to face you.  
  
“ **Icy** you have no problem with it!” You laughed, standing wobbly up.  
  
“i ͠c̛an’͏t ̕h͏elp̀ ̡it͢ ͠if͡ i̧ **ax̸e͏l͠** at s̴ka͢t̶in̡g.̡” He came a little closer to you, using the threads on your soul to carefully help you balance properly. “ **r̴i͏n̢k̸** you’̨ļl̷ ev̵e͠r ͠ge͞t͏ th̷e ͞ha͏ng ͘o͡f̵ ̵i̡t?”  
  
With Error’s help, you gradually made your way to the other side of the ice, swearing to yourself you’d never try it again. “When **hail** freezes over.” You gave the ice a glare, but you weren’t able to hold it as your laughter overcame you.  
  
Error had joined in, and the two of you must have looked ridiculous standing there in the cold, laughing at ice.  
  
~  
  
The next area was the electric maze puzzle, if you recalled correctly. Actually, you were pretty sure you could already hear Papyrus scolding sans.  
  
“YOU’RE SO LAZY!! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!”  
  
“i think that’s called... sleeping.”  
  
“EXCUSES, EXCUSES!”  
  
The pair came into view, and even though your cheeks still hurt from all the laughter before, you managed to smile at the sight of the pair.  
  
Papyrus lit up when you arrived. “OH-HO! THE HUMAN AND THEIR BLURRY FRIEND ARRIVE!” He posed dramatically. “IN ORDER TO STOP YOU... MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE...” He made a coy face, and you had to stifle the laugh that tried to escape by covering your mouth. Error didn’t bother, letting a short sound escape him. “QUITE SHOCKING!!!” He didn’t pause quite long enough for effect, instead barreling onward. “FOR YOU SEE, THIS THE INVISIBLE... ELECTRICITY MAZE!!! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THE MAZE,” He pulled out a shiny blue orb from... somewhere in his armor? You’d never been entirely sure on that one. “THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP! SOUND LIKE FUN??? BECAUSE!” He emphasized the last word. “THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE, IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK. OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW.”  
  
“Uh...” You looked between the maze and Papyrus. “Are you... forgetting something?”  
  
“WHAT? FORGETTING WHAT??” Papyrus looked confused.  
  
“i think the human has to hold the orb.” sans provided helpfully.  
  
“OH, OKAY.” Papyrus walked through the maze to you and Error, his boots leaving painfully obvious prints in the snow. Once he had reached the two of you, he leaned down a little and handed you the orb. “HOLD THIS PLEASE!” When you accepted it, he ran back the way he had come, further accentuating the footprints. “OKAY, TRY NOW!”  
  
Error was staring at the footprints in the maze, then back at you, a look of confusion on his face. “wh̵a̧t̡.͝.. b̷u͞t̀ ̶he..͠.̡”  
  
You laughed, entering the maze and following Papyrus’ boot prints. “Yeah.” Was all you could say; there was really no easy was to explain this facet of Papyrus’ personality. He wasn’t dumb, he just... overlooked things, sometimes. Error watched you get halfway through the maze, and instead opted to just walk around the entire maze like a normal person.  
  
When you’d reached the end, Papyrus was shocked, to say the least. “INCREDIBLE!! YOU SLIPPERY SNAILS!! YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY... TOO EASILY!” A look of great determination came over him. “HOWEVER!! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS!” You noticed Error’s expression had changed for a second when Papyrus had said that, but he had quickly covered it up. “YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!” Papyrus took off, full of excitement, like a puppy. It was cute.  
  
sans had stuck behind like last time, waiting until he was sure Papyrus was gone before speaking up again. “hey. about that favor you asked...” He closed one eye socket. “i went ahead and asked dogamy and dogaressa to go check somethin’ else out for me. i don’t think they’ll try anything, now.”  
  
“Thanks, sans!” You smiled brightly at him. “You won’t be in trouble?”  
  
“nah. pretty sure they didn’t mind.” He shrugged, looking away from you and at nothing in particular.  
  
A thought occurred to you. “Hey, sans... have you noticed anything... weird lately?”  
  
“hm? well, other than your buddy there...” He gestured to Error, who looked like he was studiously avoiding sans’ gaze. “not really. why?”  
  
“Oh, no reason in particular.” Well, **that** lie failed miserably. sans gave you a sort of disappointed look, and you bit your tongue, staring at the ground. Should you really be hiding this from him? Something deep inside told you **_yes_**.  
  
“well...” After an awkward silence between the three of you, sans turned to leave. “guess i’ll see you guys up ahead, then.” and he wandered off.  
  
You really weren’t sure what to say, and so you just continued forward.  
  
You hated disappointing your friends.  
  
~  
  
“Oh!! This is...!” You quickly ran across the small bridge, skidding to a stop in front of a large snowball on the ground. Without any hesitation, you began pushing it towards the little hole you could see a distance away, filled with determination.  
  
“wh͠a͘t ͟a̶r̶ȩ yo̕u͘ ̡d͢oing?” Error asked, a small smile on his face and a brow bone raised.  
  
“It’s a game!” You laughed as you gave the snowball a hard shove and watched it bounce off the tiny ice walls on the course, and towards the goal. “You push the ball into the hole!”  
  
“w̧hàt’͢s t̛hè po̕in̵t?” Error laughed at your intense concentration, following along your efforts on the sidelines.  
  
“Well, it’s...” You groaned in frustration when it bounced the wrong way. “It’s just fun. Plus you get money sometimes.” The ball rolled into the hole, and you cheered for yourself, watching as a (your soul color) flag popped out of the ground.  
  
“i̧t̷’͢ś thȩ ҉s͢a̷me ͜c̨ol̶ǫr ̛as y͢o̡u͘r so͞u̡l̢...” Error stared at the flag in slight wonder.  
  
“Yeah, I think it figures it out based off how you get the ball there.” You smiled. The ball had re-appeared at the beginning of the course, and you got a fun idea. “Why don’t you try, Error?”  
  
Your face fell when the look on his face changed from a quiet humor to crestfallen, his pupils vanishing. “i ҉d̷on̸’t͞.́.. th͟i͞nk tha̕t’̧s ̸a͝ goơd i̷dea̢.”  
  
The sudden silence felt terrible, and you regretted bringing up the idea. Of course his soul probably wasn’t right, especially not if the rest of him wasn’t. “Sorry...”  
  
“y̧ơu ͜s̷a̢y tha͢t ̕a lơt.” It was a statement; there was no anger or resentment behind it. “yo̸u şh̸o͜u̸l̷dn͝’̕t.͡” He had begun walking towards the “Word Search” puzzle area, and you followed him.  
  
“Haha, guess I can’t help it...” You laughed sheepishly. You **did** say sorry a lot, but... you felt pretty bad for all the things that were happening, both to him, and to you and your friends.  
  
“sǫr͠ry̢ d͝oés͟n’̶t ̶fix̕ **evęryt̨h͟i̵n͝g͡**.”  
  
He had said it so cryptically, so emotionlessly that you’d wanted to ask him about it, but you were interrupted by Papyrus.  
  
“HUMAN!!! HUMAN’S BLURRY FRIEND!!!” He announced loudly, making both you and Error look over at him. “I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR...” He then looked down at the ground, finally noticing the lack of anything that could constitute a puzzle. “SANS!! WHERE’S THE PUZZLE!!!” He turned to his brother, frowning.  
  
“it’s right there. on the ground.” Papyrus gave him a very skeptical look, and he shrugged. “trust me. there’s no way they can get past this one.”  
  
Taking his word for it, Papyrus turned back expectantly at you and Error, watching to see how you solved the puzzle.  
  
Error had opted to stare in increasing disbelief at the paper on the ground, almost as though trying to decide whether it was the stupidest thing he’d ever seen or completely ingenious. You, on the other hand, had walked over to the Word Search, staring intently. Then slowly, deliberately, you turned to look at the brothers.  
  
“... Do either of you have a pencil?”  
  
Silence.  
  
“SANS!!! THAT DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” Papyrus shouted unhappily, looking between you and sans.  
  
“whoops.” He shrugged, smiling at Papyrus. “i knew i forgot something.”  
  
“UN. BELIEVABLE.” Papyrus turned back to you and Error. “HUMAN!!! YOU SHALL SEE THE NEXT PUZZLE IS NOT QUITE SO UNPREPARED!!! FOR IT IS PREPARED BY I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!!!” He took off again, his scarf fluttering in the wind.  
  
You could hear sans chuckling good-naturedly, and you walked up to him. “You know, I don’t know why I always forget to bring a pencil or something.” You mused happily.  
  
He shrugged. “you’ll just have to **write** that wrong next time.” You laughed, and he continued. “anyways, looks like the ‘circle’ puzzles are broke... you’ll just have to forget ‘em this time.”  
  
“Oh, thank you.” You smiled at him, speaking softer this time. “Really, I mean it.”  
  
“i know, i know.” He waved your thanks off casually. “my bro seems like he’s having fun, anyways.”  
  
Error had approached the two of you now, his own gaze drifting off in the direction Papyrus had gone. He looked almost... wistful. You really didn’t want to bring it up, but clearly sans had noticed the expression as well, and directed a question at Error. “he’s a cool guy, huh?”  
  
“.͘.̛.̸y̢eah.͝” Error didn’t seem like he was entirely with you anymore. You cleared your throat awkwardly, shuffling in the snow.  
  
“So, we’re just gonna go on ahead, okay?”  
  
“sure. see ya.” sans headed in the opposite direction, and you turned to Error.  
  
“Are you alright, Error?” You were concerned; you’d just been having some fun with the puzzle, and now it was almost like he was completely lost in himself. You didn’t like it; it gave you an odd feeling.  
  
“hm͠? ͜yea͡ḩ? ̵i’m͞ ͢fine.̨” He shrugged sheepishly, his cheeks coloring slightly when he finally came back down to earth. “are ̵w̧e҉ ͞g̛o̵ing?̕”  
  
“...yeah.” You were sure things **weren’t** fine, but... you could let it go.  
  
For now.  
  
~  
  
The next, largest chunk of the woods was largely uninhabited. The two of you still hadn’t encountered any monsters like you had every other playthrough (Error decided to attribute this to his presence scaring them off, and honestly, that sounded pretty plausible), and with the Dogi elsewhere and the ‘circle’ puzzles out of commission, it didn’t take too long for you to reach the tile puzzle. Papyrus stood triumphantly at the other end, and began his long and detailed explanation of how the puzzle worked; you weren’t really listening, instead opting to quietly fill Error in.  
  
“So, it doesn’t really matter how he explains it, because it always comes up as a straight path.” You explained to him, gesturing to the tiles.  
  
“so ̡he ͢reall͞y̨ n͞e̢vèr͝ ͠h̷uŗts̢ ͜y̨o͡u,̕ ͠huh͘.̕” He was watching Papyrus rather animatedly describe each tile to you.  
  
“Nope. He’s just too good.” You smiled to yourself.  
  
“HOW WAS THAT!? UNDERSTAND???”  
  
“Um...” You stared blankly at Papyrus. You knew you were just supposed to agree with him, but you hadn’t expected him to ask you that quite so quickly. “Yes!”  
  
“GREAT!! THEN THERE’S ONE LAST THING...” He narrowed his eyes, building suspense. “THIS PUZZLE...”  
  
The next thing that came out of his mouth sounded more like a static hiss than words, and you found yourself struggling to understand him. sans didn’t look at all perturbed by it, but when you looked over at Error, he too had frowned and furrowed his brow bones, trying to figure out what Papyrus had said. You watched in confusion as Papyrus flipped the switch, and triggered the puzzle to flash in its many colors, before finally settling to... black...?  
  
Papyrus continued on, as though nothing strange had just happened. Shocked by the outcome of the tile puzzle, he took off, presumably to the next puzzle. sans continued to stand on the other side, like nothing was wrong. You stared at the black tiles. “Um...”  
  
“l͟e̴t me ̕g͡ues͜s̵; n̷oţ usua̶ll̸ỳ t̨hat c͘o͜l͡o̧ŗ, r͟ig͠h͟t?͟” Error approached the tile, reaching down to touch it. It made a strange, garbled electronic noise when he connected with it, but other than that it didn’t seem to do anything at all.  
  
“No.” You hesitantly stepped forward, tentatively placing the tip of your toe on the tile. It released the noise again, but you didn’t feel any pain. You really didn’t like the noise, though. “Can we, um, run across it?”  
  
“w͜ḩy? se̕ém̀s ̛fiǹe.”  
  
“I just... I really don’t like that noise.” You answered quietly, staring at the black tiles.  
  
“.́..f͠a̧i̛r̡ ͢e͞no̵ugh.̀” Error gestured for you to go forward. You covered your ears to dampen the sound as you began running forward; it felt like every step the two of you took, the sound got louder and louder until you hit the end. You’d been concentrating so hard on ignoring the noise, you’d almost run into sans.  
  
“woah, hey kiddo. be careful!” He commented, holding a hand out to help still you. “you, uh, don’t look so good.”  
  
“Sorry, it’s just, doesn’t the puzzle look weird to you?” You looked back at the black tiles, a shiver running through you.  
  
sans stared at the puzzle for a moment before looking back at you. “no. you feelin’ ok?”  
  
You stared searchingly at Error, and he shook his head. sans couldn’t see it. “Yeah, I’m... guess I’m just tired.” You laughed it off. “Me and Error should get going. We’ll see you at the bridge, right?”  
  
“...yeah. sure thing.” sans was still eyeing you suspiciously as you took off. When you’d gotten a safe distance away, you turned to Error.  
  
“What... why is that happening now?!?”  
  
He shook his head. “d̨on’̧ţ ̶ask me̛. i s̸t͝il̸ļ ͡d͜o͝n’̨t͞ k͡n͠o̧w why̧ an̸y͝thi̵n͞g ̨ìs̶ ͟ȩven̵ ha͞pp͞e͞n̕i̧n͜g̢ in ҉t͟h͝ę fi̵rs̴t͡ ̨p̛l̶ac͘e͞.̴” The thought seemed to bother him, because he was starting to get a little glitchier than usual. You rubbed your hands against your face, trying to wipe away the anxiety that was starting to build.  
  
“Look, it’ll be fine. We **won’t** have to do it this time. We won’t have to hurt anyone.” You spoke aloud, though more for your benefit than Error’s. “Everything will be fine.”  
  
He must have detected the finality in your voice, because he didn’t say anything.  
  
~  
  
Snow poffs.  
  
You loved snow poffs.  
  
The second you saw one, you did the first thing you could think of; you flopped into it face-first. Feeling the snow around you poof outwards was almost therapeutic, like you were releasing all your problems, if only temporarily.  
  
“w͝h͠y̢ ar͢e y͞o̵u ͜do̡i̡ng͢ tha̸t͞?” You could practically hear the look Error was giving you, and you rolled over in your pile of snow, staring at him.  
  
“Because it’s a snow poff.” You replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
He made a face, rolling his eyes. “o͢h͏. su̶re.̡ obvío̴us͡l͘y͞ ̕th͘at̵’s w͠hat y͝oų ͘do̴.”  
  
“Don’t knock it ‘till you’ve tried it.”  
  
He stared at a snow poff, and you pretended you weren’t paying attention. After looking between you and the poff, you heard a soft ‘flumpf’ sound, and then silence.  
  
“.͡.̷.th́i͟s i͜sǹ’t͘ f̨u͟n.̢”  
  
You laughed, the sound echoing into the distance. You couldn’t help it. There was something so... pure, so childish about this situation... you really didn’t think there would be any moments like this in this playthrough. Error huffed, but you didn’t hear him standing. “Maybe you didn’t do it right.” You stood, brushing snow off yourself. “See, you do it like this.” You walked over to another snow poff, and let your body go limp, as though you’d been instantly killed, and fell into the soft pile of snow, sending it everywhere.  
  
He stood, giving you a quizzical look, but walked to another snow poff and copied your action, falling into it with a very satisfying-sounding ‘poof’.  
  
“.̴..s̴eriously, t͠h̕iś ͝i͠s̢ r͞ea̸ll̵y͢ dumb̧.”  
  
He sounded so unimpressed, you could hold back the loud laughter that bubbled up from inside you, and you rolled in the snow. He had sat up, all covered in snow, looking incredibly unsatisfied, and it only made you laugh harder.  
  
He rolled his eyes, standing and brushing the snow off himself before walking over to you. “r͘ȩal̷ly funn̴y͢.͞ ̡c͘a̵n̡ we͏ g̕o̷ no͡w̵?̕”  
  
You nodded, wiping mirthful tears from your eyes and standing, brushing the snow off yourself. “Yeah, the bridge is up ahead.” Ooh, gold! There’d been some money in your snow poff!! Pocketing it, you searched the area for the poff Greater Dog always hid in, but you didn’t see it. sans must have gotten him to leave his post somehow.  
  
“The bridge, huh...?” He sounded like he recognized it, but once again you decided not to ask. Not yet, anyways.  
  
As you approached and fearlessly walked on the dangerously long bridge, you had turned back to explain to Error that it was actually on top of a very sturdy rock formation when movement behind him caught your eye; something black and jagged had been partway out of the ground, and then suddenly gone back in when you noticed it.  
  
You’d stopped walking suddenly, almost making Error bump into you. He’d been about to complain when you cut him off with a quiet utterance. “...Flowey...?”  
  
“he’̕s h͠ere͏?” Error turned, sounding eager. “ẃh̷e͡re̵?”  
  
“I...” You turned back around. “Never mind. I thought I saw him, but... guess I really **am** tired.” You couldn’t look at Error, he’d know you were lying. Then he’d be mad. But you weren’t really sure if you were ready to tell him what you’d seen. It _couldn’t_ have been Flowey.  
  
“HUMAN! HUMAN’S FRIEND!” Papyrus shouted from the other end of the bridge, looking decidedly triumphant. “THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!”  
  
The trap activated, a flamethrower, spear, and cannon rising up from below the rocks, and a spiked ball, second spear, and dog on a rope lowering from above. “WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE!” His words were gaining intensity. “EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!! ARE YOU READY!? BECAUSE!” He began pausing between each word. “I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!”  
  
Error had shifted a little, and you could see his threads glow softly into life. You turned and gave him a re-assuring smile before turning back to the brothers.  
  
sans raised a brow bone at Papyrus. “well? what’s the holdup?”  
  
Papyrus looked affronted. “HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!? I’M...” He suddenly looked hesitant. “I’M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!” Another long pause. The threads that had appeared around your soul began to fade.  
  
sans was staring expectantly at the trap. “that, uh, doesn’t look very activated.”  
  
“WELL!!! THIS CHALLENGE!!! IT SEEMS... “ Papyrus was searching for the words, a look of concern on his face. “MAYBE... TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN AND THEIR FRIEND WITH. YEAH! WE CAN’T USE THIS ONE!!!” He puffed up his chest proudly. “I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!!! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL!” He turned and pulled a hidden lever. “AWAY IT GOES!”  
  
All the parts of the trap retracted, leaving the bridge once again safe and normal. Papyrus let out a sigh of relief, and you could actually see the tension leave him now that you and Error were safe. When he noticed you watching him intently, he stiffened again. “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!! NYEH!! HEH!!” He then looked a little confused with himself. “...HEH???” And he ran off.  
  
sans spoke up as you walked the rest of the way across the bridge. “so, y’know what’s gonna happen, right?” You nodded. “so... i know i don’t gotta warn you, but...” He looked past you at Error. “ **don’t fight my brother.** ”  
  
When you looked at Error, he had slightly irritated look on his face. “o̷͠h̷̸, ̢́͘s̛u̸̶re͞͝͠.̶̴ ̵͘ń̵͢o̴ ͜prơ̴b̧͜le͠͡͠m҉.̛” sans scoffed at the response, turning back to you.  
  
“you might wanna take a rest, though. you’re lookin’ a little rough, kiddo.”  
  
“That’s... not a bad idea.” You admitted, eyeing the Inn from where you stood. But then again, you felt pretty bad sleeping, especially when you weren’t sure if Error would just sit and wait like he had last time. “Thanks, sans. We’ll see.”  
  
“no problem. take care.” sans didn’t move from his position, and so you and Error continued on, entering the small, wintery town.


	7. DATA RESTORATION: 40%

**DATA RESTORATION: 40%**

If there was one defining characteristic of Snowdin, it was that it felt like a warm place, despite the cold. The lights on in every building cut through the dark, and practically invited people in.  
  
You stretched out, breathing a sigh of relief. Monsters were still bustling about, and everything looked normal. Happy.  
  
“s̀o,̕ w͠h̢at’͟re w͘e ͞go̢ing͝ ͟t̀ó ͏d̴o͟ n̸ow?͞” Error asked, moving so he was standing in front of you.  
  
“...Actually, I’m sort of hungry.” You hadn’t realized how long it had been since you’d eaten, and while you still had that pie... “I think I’m going to get some food. Did you want some?” Could he even eat?  
  
He stared at you for a second, then shrugged, smiling a bit wider. “s̕u͜re,͏ i gùȩss̡.”  
  
You nodded, and began heading to Grillby’s. You wouldn’t have minded some of the food from the shop, but Error was still sans, right? He’d probably prefer food from Grillby’s. Delicious, greasy food from Grillby’s.  
  
“h͟ey, h͡an̕ģ ̡ơn̸.” You paused, turning back to Error. “i͏, ͢u̢h.́.͜.͝ i’̕d̴ r̢e͘a̧l̨l͠y͘ r̡at̀h̨er̢ not ̢g͡o iń.”  
  
“No?” You wanted to ask, but again, he looked like he’d rather not say. “Uh... hang on!” You opened the door to Grillby’s, feeling the hot air blowing against your face. “Let me just...” You experimentally stepped into the building, looking back at Error as you did so. When he didn’t frizz out of existence like he had in Toriel’s house, you stepped the whole way in. Nothing.  
  
Error didn’t look at all happy when you took the experiment a step further without his permission, closing the door and looking out the window at him, and he expressed as much by pulling your soul and making you hit your face on the glass. You’d been about to make a gesture at him when you realized all the patrons of the bar were looking at you, and you embarrassedly sidled away from the door and to the bar, avoiding eye contact with everyone.  
  
You’d have to hit him with a snowball for that later.  
  
“Hello, can I get a couple orders of burgers and fries to go?” You asked Grillby politely, and he crackled and nodded, heading off to the back.  
  
You leaned up against the bar as casually as possible, examining the bottles of liquid on the back shelves rather than any of the patrons. You really weren’t sure you’d recovered enough from embarrassing yourself for that.  
  
“ya beat me here, huh? that’s pretty impressive.”  
  
You nearly jumped out of your skin when sans was suddenly seated at the bar next to you, and judging from the smug look on his face, he knew he’d scared you. “sans!” You scolded, frowning at him. You were embarrassed enough already!  
  
He chuckled. “saw your buddy outside. didn’t wanna come in?”  
  
Your frown turned into more of a sad expression, and you looked back out the window. Error had leaned up against a tree, and was staring at the ground in a pensive manner, hands stuffed into his pockets. The monsters that went by ignored him, whether they could see him or not. “No, he... he didn’t.”  
  
There was a pause, and you felt sans’ hand on your shoulder. You turned to meet his gaze. “look, let me give you some advice: be careful around him, okay?” He looked serious, concerned.  
  
You knew already that you had to be at least somewhat careful around Error; you never really knew **what** he was capable of. For some reason, hearing it come from someone else made it almost... sinister, though.  
  
“he’s not... right. i don’t know what he wants, but you gotta make sure you’re ready if it goes south.” sans continued, seeming like he was struggling a little with his wording.  
  
“sans... I... okay. I’ll be careful.” You placed your hand on top of his, giving him a reassuring smile.  
  
You heard a soft sound from the bar next to you, and when you’d turned Grillby had set down a (slightly melted) disposable plastic container in front of you. It smelled delicious. “Thanks, Grillby! How much do I... owe...” You blanched a little. Would you even have enough to cover it? Sure, you’d found some in the snow poff and a little from the ball game, but... you’d been hoping to use that for the inn.  
  
“just put it on my tab, ‘kay Grillbz?” sans spoke up from beside you, leaning against the bar. Grillby had passed him a bottle of ketchup, and he casually took a drink from it.  
  
“Thanks, sans. Sorry.” You smiled apologetically, picking up the container. You’d been about to turn to leave when you paused. Ketchup. “Hey, um, Grillby?” The flame monster looked up at you. “Can I... could I possibly...” You eyed sans’ ketchup. Would that cost more?  
  
You didn’t need to finish your sentence as he passed you a bottle of ketchup, and returned to cleaning the glass in his hand. “he says it’s on the house.” sans supplied from his seat, smiling.  
  
“Thank you!” You grabbed the bottle of ketchup, eagerly heading back out to your companion. Before you could go out the door, you heard sans call out to you one last time.  
  
“remember what i said, kiddo.”  
  
~  
  
“I’m back!” You cheerfully proclaimed, arms full of food.  
  
Error looked up, broken out of whatever train of thought he had. “so̶ i͡ ͡se̶e̛.”  
  
“Let’s eat... uh...” You searched around; there really wasn’t any particular place to eat outside. Recalling the cliff to the left of town, you quickly took off towards it, trying to hurry before the food got cold. “This way!”  
  
Error had followed, and when you plopped down on the edge of the cliff, letting your legs swing over the edge, he reluctantly followed suit. “isn̵’t ̡thi̸s͡ ki̴nda̷ ͏d́a͏n͘g̛er̢ous͘?”  
  
You laughed. “Maybe a little. But I’m not that worried.” You opened the plastic container, having a little trouble pulling the melted pieces apart, but you managed to get them unstuck. You handed Error a burger, and when his fingers casually brushed yours you had fight jumping in surprise; he actually didn’t seem bothered by it. He was staring at the burger, and you remembered your other prize, the ketchup bottle. “Tah-dah!” You presented it to him, and when his eye sockets widened a little you laughed, setting it down next to him. “I figured we could use some.” You picked up your own burger, taking a bite from it. Monster food was always so satisfying.  
  
“s͟o w͏h͡y áre̢ņ’t̡ ҉y̡o͘u͟ w͡o̕rr̕i̢e̶d?” He was staring at his burger, debating something.  
  
“About the cliff?” He nodded. “I don’t know. I guess it’s just because I figure if I fall, you’ll probably catch me?” You ended it as a question, and he laughed. You took another bite of your burger.  
  
“y͢ou a̧c͏tua̸l̢l̵ý ̧trus̴t mȩ th̛at mưch?͘” He was smiling strangely, and sounded like he couldn’t believe you. “w̡h͟ỳ?҉”  
  
“Well...” You lowered your burger, looking off into the distance. “I’m not dead yet.”  
  
He was quiet for a bit, following your gaze. It was pretty beautiful, the trees and the dark sky. “you ̢thin͡k̸ ́t̀hàt͡ ͞me̴a̡n̵s you ͏can t̷r̀ust m͘e͢?́”  
  
“No. Well, yes. Well, I mean...” You furrowed your brows, staring at the container on your lap. “You didn’t lie to me. You said you would help me, and you **have** been. So...” You finished kind of lamely, taking another bite.  
  
“ha̕.̵.̨.͠” He laughed weakly this time, and closed his eye sockets. He still hadn’t touched his burger, just holding it in his other hand.  
  
“...Aren’t you gonna eat that? Cause if you aren’t...” You gave him a look that clearly said ‘I’m gonna eat it.’, and he smiled like he usually did again.  
  
“i̷’̢m͜ eatin̴g ít͞.̶”  
  
You were suitably horrified and amazed when he parted his teeth, and what you could only describe as a mass of blue, jelly-like tentacles spilled out, engulfing the burger and dragging it back into his mouth. “he͞y,̛ ͘y͟ou ͞d̴r͠oppęd ̀you̕rs.”  
  
You slowly dragged your gaze away from his mouth and back to your hand, noticing that the rest of your burger was, indeed, absent. “...aww...” You quietly muttered, staring down at the ground far below where your burger probably sat. The whole, sudden tongue thing had thrown you off guard. “You could’ve warned me about that.”  
  
“i͝ ̕d͢i͢d͠n’͏t ̴knoẃ ́y̵o̢u w̢e̵re͡ g̷o͡ìn̕g to ̨dro̵p ͠iţ.” He was looking down below, too.  
  
“...” You gave him a funny look. “Not the burger, the mouth thing!”  
  
“wh͜at͘? wh̕at͟ abou͢t m̴y m̴o͏u̧th?̕”  
  
You had a stare off, each just as confused as the other, before you finally shook your head, digging out the fries. You carefully secured yours in your lap before looking over at him, handing him his own little holder. As freaky as it was, you kind of wanted to see it again.  
  
He’d taken the fries from you, grabbing the ketchup bottle and covering them with the red condiment. Not as much as you would’ve thought, but still more than a normal person. Then he’d opened his mouth again, the blue jell-tacles grabbing the fries, holder and all, and pulled it into his mouth again.  
  
“That’s... so...” He looked over at you, confused and disconcerted by your interest. “...Cool! Weird, but cool!”  
  
“ưh͟, thánk̨s? ͠i̴ guesş?̕” He was avoiding your gaze, looking pretty nervous. You laughed, and grabbed a couple of your own fries, eating them.  
  
“But I don’t think the holder was edible.” You added, swinging your legs happily.  
  
“oh, ́r͟ight̴.” The blue jell-tacles returned, this time holding the empty holder and dropping it into his hand. “th͠er͏e͞.̛”  
  
“You can just decide what to take out?!?” You were officially baffled now. Was it like an INVENTORY??  
  
“sor̶t̴a.̸ ̧w̷i͠th͜i̸n r̛easo̢n, ͝i̷ ͝mea̡n͠.̛” You set down the empty container between the two of you, and he deposited the holder into it. It didn’t even look slimy or anything!  
  
“Geez, you’re... you’re so different.” You laughed, finishing up your fries.  
  
“h̡a͏, ̴ye̶a̸h.̨.. t͘e͢lĺ ͠me͘ ̴a̸b̀out̵ it͘...”  
  
“But it’s good. I think if everything was always the same...” You didn’t finish your sentence. Everything in **your** life had always been the same. And you’d liked it, hadn’t you...?  
  
You suddenly felt a little sick. You stared at the ground below, finding yourself unable to even finish the thought.  
  
“yo̡u, ̕uh, ͘doing̵ ̶alri͡ģḩt?͠” Error sounded worried, and you looked over at him, a little lost.  
  
“Yeah... I think so. I’m just tired.” That was probably it. You were tired. “Would it be okay if we stayed over at the Inn for a bit? Maybe if I get some sleep...”  
  
“i̛ ͞gu̧es͜s ͏so͏.” He stood, stretching out.  
  
You stood as well, collecting your garbage. “Thanks.”  
  
~  
  
Luckily, you’d had enough money to pay the room for one night, and even luckier, it seemed the noisy rabbits weren’t sleeping next door this time. Sure, it was suspicious that they had been snoring loudly until Error “went to check something out”, and had gone strangely silent before he’d come back. But you figured you’d put faith in him, and that it was just a coincidence. Sure.  
  
“So...” You flopped onto the bed. You hadn’t realized how exhausted you were until you laid down. “Did you want to sleep for a while? I can wait.” He was leaning against the table in the room, and waved the suggestion off.  
  
“na̧h̴, i͞’m g͢o̷o͜d.”  
  
You frowned a little, rolling over to look at him. “Why don’t you sleep?”  
  
He paused and stared at you, as though debating something, but finally spoke. “i...͢ ͢sĺep͢t ͏a lot,҉ a ̢w̛hil͘e͞ ҉ag̸o.͠ i’̧m no̧t͝ ̡reall̀y͢ m̧u͢c̵h for sl̶eepín̶g͜ ͠an̵ym͡ore.͠”  
  
It was candid of him, but somehow still vague. “You slept a lot..? Why?” You pressed on gently, carefully. You really didn’t want to upset him.  
  
“b͂ͣ̄̓̃e̶ͤ̌ͦ͗̑̊̇ca̷uͣ͂ͥs͗͗e ͫ̒iͮ͗ ͯ̉̌̐̉̆͋͡h͑̉̌́ͭ̚҉a͊d̂̍̚͘ ̛̐̓ͮͥ̊n͗̅́̏oth̅̃̂i̡̎ͧn̒͗ͯ̽̆g͐͛̅ͣͫ̏͛̀ ̿ͪͣ̀ͣ̊̚ë̎͐l͢s̢͆͛̒̌eͮ͑ͪ̇ͯͧ͡ ͤ͐͂tͫo͆̾̎ͫ͊̈́̒ ̛ͨ͑͆̑̒͌d́͊͛ͭ͋oͬ̀́͋ͬ͗̌͜.̵̈̔͂ͯ” He replied in such a simple manner that it caused some unease in you. “b̷̀͆̍u̐ͥ̾͜tͮ ̧ͮ͋̑̃ͥͤ̅i̇ͣ̆͞t͛̔̎ͦ̅̆ ̇̐̇̄̈g͂ͫͭ̇̏oͮ̐̎ͭ̒ͮ̚t͗̏ͧ̓͐͡ ̓̀b́͒̿̇͗̔̅҉oͯ̔͒ͤr̴͗̇i̋̆̈́̄̊̏n͛ͮ͛̎̈́̚gͨ̉̊̔̌̓ͮ.̷̐̅”  
  
You had sat up in bed now, staring down at your hands. _It got boring_. It must have been _lonely_ in the void. So _lonely_. You pulled your legs up, resting your head on your knees. Then why did he want to go back? “Well, I mean... You’ve got your job now, right?”  
  
He brightened considerably. “yeah! it͠’͏l̛l͠ be҉ g̕r̕eąt͜ t͏o͟ ̡f͡in͞a̕ll͘y ͝g̵e͘t͞ ba͠ck t͏o wo̢r̨k͡.͞..̨” He’d summoned the threads that weren’t attached to your soul, playing with them.  
  
Not that you really understood his work, but if it made him happy, it couldn’t be all bad, could it? You smiled, burying yourself under the bed covers. “So, what’ll you do while I sleep?’ Unlike the Ruins, he could clearly leave the same room as you in Snowdin.  
  
“dưn͘n̢ó.̶” He shrugged. “proba̢b̛l̀y ̶j̨ust̶ hunt͡ ar̨oưn̵d͝ f͞or͜ on͠e òf̷ th̨ơs͘e̸ ̀te̴a͟r̸s.͞ m͜a̵y͝b͝e ì’ll get ̡lu̵cky͢.̶” He sounded very positive, and it was a little infectious.  
  
“Well, if you **do** find one, can you at least tell me before you go?”  
  
“o̴f̵ c̸ou̕r͜s̸e!” He sounded pleased, and he turned to exit the room. “se͟e͜ y͢a̸.͢”  
  
“’Night!” You called out. Once he had left, you turned off the light, engulfing the room in darkness.  
  
You climbed back into bed and closed your eyes, falling into a restless sleep filled with strange electronic noises, darkness, and hissing static.  
  
~  
  
When you woke, Error just returning from his unsuccessful mission; it seemed that there were no holes to the void in Snowdin, and while you were disheartened by that, at least you knew there would be a way for him to get home once you reached the barrier.  
  
After thanking the bunny lady at the front desk for her hospitality, the two of you set out for the path leading to Waterfall. “We’ll have to fight Papyrus to leave.” You mentioned as you trekked past Grillby’s. Error flinched, missing a step, but laughed in a stilted manner.  
  
“yea͡h?”  
  
“Well, ‘fight’ being the operative word.” You added. “I always spare him.” Even if he didn’t say it, that looked like it made him feel better.  
  
The mist had begun to get a little thick once you ventured past the skeleton brothers’ house, but that was nothing new. It always did. But this time, it didn’t clear up.  
  
It was eerily silent, the wind not even making a sound anymore. The air filled with a chill unlike anything you’d felt before, and you looked nervously over at Error. “Is it... happening again...?”  
  
He was scanning the thick white fog to no avail, looking more nervous than you’d seen him before. “į͢ d͝͝u̷̧n̶͞ǹǫ̢.͘”  
  
You wanted badly to grab his arm, at least so you could know you wouldn’t lose him in the thick fog, but knowing he disliked that you kept your distance, carefully walking forward. It seemed he must have had the same thought, because suddenly the strings on your soul were visible again, their glow cutting through the whiteness.  
  
When you’d reached the point where you’d usually battle Papyrus, you were expecting either nothing, or something horrifying.  
  
You were filled with relief when you heard Papyrus’ voice call from the whiteness. “UM...” But he didn’t sound like he normally did. He sounded almost... worried, helpless... scared. But why did he sound scared?  
  
“H-HUMAN... HUMAN’S FRIEND... YOU SHOULDN’T...” He was struggling to finish his sentence, and you tried desperately to see him.  
  
“Papyrus, where are you?” You felt around the fog.  
  
“HUMAN, PLEASE, TURN BACK!!” He shouted desperately, and you were filled with a feeling of dread. What had happened to him? You tried to run towards the sound of his voice, but you could feel your soul being held back by the threads, and you turned to find Error standing near you in the fog.  
  
“f͟/͝n͞, i ̡t͠h̛in͏k̸ w̸e s̴h̷o͟u̶ld ̀ge̡t̛ rea͟d͟y.” He was looking oddly in the direction Papyrus’ voice had come from, as though he could feel something you couldn’t.  
  
“Get ready?!? For what??” You could feel panic rising in your chest.  
  
The answer came sooner than you hoped, in the form of a shadow approaching the two of you.  
  
It was big, whatever it was. Very big. It almost looked as though it had simply glided forward, but because of the thick fog it was hard to discern any actual features of the thing, except... except it had a LOT of limbs. One of them shot out from the fog, massive and bony, just barely missing you. Your eyes widened at the sight of it, watching as it slowly dragged back into the mist.  
  
“C-Crap!!” You barely dodged out of the way as another shot out, landing where you had once been standing. You had collided with Error when you had dodged, causing him to fritz out for a second until you got off him, hurriedly apologizing before another hand shot out, attempting to grab the both of you.  
  
You dodged in separate directions, each now standing on either side of the large, skeletal hand. “What do we do?!?”  
  
“t̸h̴is͘!͢” Error had maneuvered the threads on one of his hands so that they had quickly wrapped around the skeletal hand on the ground, and followed it backwards into the fog. Because of the thread, you could now see where it had gone, and where it was.  
  
“Good thinking!” You nodded in Error’s direction before moving forwards towards whatever the thing was. “Papyrus!!”  
  
“w͡h҉a̸t̢ a̡re͞ yo̴u̷ d͞òiǹg?!̸?͜ do͜n͡’t͞ ̷go̕ ̧o̸ver͡ t͠heré!!̨!” Error had moved to pull your soul back towards him, but you had anticipated the move this time, and before he had the chance to do so you pulled on them yourself, causing him to stumble forwards. It hurt you quite a bit, but it was worth it to buy you a little time. You instantly regretted the decision when you saw what you were facing.  
  
It was a large, bone-white creature, looking like some sort of strange fusion between a melting doll and a snake; the larger, bottom portion of it was entirely composed of massive white bones, almost like a human spine that looked like it tapered off into nothingness. The top half, however, had a spherical white head with gaping holes for eyes and a toothless smile, large skeletal arms protruding from every part of its torso with the exception of the middle. In the middle, two of the skeletal arms were held in front of it, suspending something by thick black strings of some sort of goop as though it were nothing more than a toy.  
  
Papyrus.  
  
He looked terrified, clearly unable to move himself, but when he saw you standing in front of him he smiled nervously. “DO NOT WORRY, HUMAN! I AM FINE!!BUT YOU MUST GO!!”  
  
“No!” You finally mustered up a reply, and the creature seemed incredibly pleased. Before you could wonder why, two of the arms slammed down on either side of you, and the face of it was right in front of you, staring you dead in the eyes. It was making a hissing noise, almost like whispering. You were shaking hard, your entire body frozen. You couldn’t hear anything but the whispers... but what were they saying...?  
  
Suddenly the creature wheeled back, howling in pain, Papyrus swinging somewhat precariously between the two arms.  
  
“s̴͠e̡͡r̕i͘͡ou̵ş̶l̨y,͏͞͠ ̨y̵̨ou’̸̨̨r̶̕͢e̵͘ ̡҉b̷̵͠éíǹ͟͝g ͟r̕eál̢l̀y̛ ͢͞u̶͏s̴̡e͠l̸̕eşs͢͝ ŕi͢͟͡g̢ht̴ ̷͡n̸͜҉ò̀w!̛!͏̧” Error shouted at you, two of his Blasters summoned behind him. You shook out of your stupor, feeling sort of dumb.  
  
“Sorry! I’m just...” An arm launched from the fog, and you moved out of its way. “I’m just scared that my friends-“ Another arm immediately followed, forcing you to dodge somewhat sloppily to your right. “-my friends will be hurt!!!” You launched yourself towards the ground just in time to avoid a third.  
  
Error seemed to be in much the same position as you, the multiple limbs of the creature forcing the both of you to keep moving. “s̷̨t͜ill͏?͜͞!̀?͟” Unlike you, he had the ability to fight back; for every hand that launched itself in his direction, he fired an Error Blaster at it, causing the creature to pull it back and shake it in pain. “i̵̛ ͏̕t̶o̶l̡d ͞҉yò͡ù̕, ̴̡̕t͜͞h̕͘es̡e̸ a͢͟re̕n̨͢’̸͟t̵ ̀y͜͜o̷u̴r̢͢ ̵̛f̶͝r̡ie͞n̨̢d̢̛ś̶͞!̨̢̀!͏̵!̡̢”  
  
“ **THIS ONE IS.** ” You shouted firmly, angrier than you’d been before. You could see Papyrus. He **wasn’t** this creature.  
  
“HUMAN...” Papyrus had heard your shout, and now had a touched, if not slightly pained, look on his face.  
  
“Don’t worry, Papyrus!! We’ll get you out, I promise!!” If you’d picked up a weapon, there would be more you could’ve done, but... You turned to Error, barely able to make him out in the fog. “Error, please!! Please help me!!”  
  
You couldn’t tell what expression he was giving you, but he was silent for a moment.  
  
Then, out of the fog, you heard him reply. “f̧in͘e̛.”  
  
You smiled for the first time since the battle had begun, and you ran towards the creature. Error copied the motion, following the threads of your soul. “só w̡h̨at̛’̸s̡ ̴th̛ȩ ́p̨l͡an̢, exa͟ctl̕y?͞”  
  
“Those-“ You avoided an arm. “-threads!! If we break them-“  
  
You didn’t need to finish the thought, because Error had already caught your drift. One of the arms had slammed down near him, and instead of completely avoiding it he had jumped on top of it, using his threads to utilize it as a ramp, getting to the torso of the creature faster.  
  
You had to admit, he looked... **really** cool.  
  
You shook your head, embarrassed from having a thought like that at a time like this, and instead made yourself useful in distracting the creature. “HEY!!! UGLY!!!” You shouted to it, and when a hand came down you kicked it with all your might. Ouch. Although it didn’t do any damage to the creature, it **did** seem to irritate it enough that it began launching more hands at you.  
  
You watched as Error attempted to cut Papyrus free with his Blasters, only to have the black goop immediately regenerate itself.  
  
“cͬ̈̒̓̀r̾͒̍̐͡aͦp͂̈́͋̓̋͘!̡ͮ̎̿!̀ͥ͂ͩ́ͧ̎!͌͏ ̧͒̊ͦ͒̎̉̿thͣͧ̃̆́̎̎͢i̸̒sͩ̓ͬ̽ͬ ͭ̋͞ī̉̀̄̍͗s̿̌ͧ̑͐ņ̆̒̍’̀ͤ͢t̵ ͛̓̍ŵ̍ͣ̉̐̔̊ö̧́̏ͩ̅rͩ̈́̃̓͛k̆ͭ̿̐͊͆in̒ͪ̚g̊̏̂́!͛͑ͭͧͨ̄!͂͊̔ͩ̓!̑̽͞” He was starting to get frustrated, more ‘error’ signs appearing on his body.  
  
“I-I THINK I CAN HELP!!!” Papyrus spoke up, and closed his eyes, concentrating hard. The creature looked like it was about to hurt Papyrus, and you panicked, grabbing a nearby rock and hurtling it as hard as you could at the creature’s face.  
  
Thankfully, it hit its mark, bouncing off the spherical head and creating a large crack. It screeched, bringing four of its arms up to cover the damage as it thrashed. Error, using his threads as a way of hanging on, gave you a shocked and frankly, proud, look.  
  
Papyrus opened his eyes again, his right eye filled with a dark blue flame. The threads holding him back were engulfed in the blue magic, and had begun to sag from the unseen weight. “TRY TO DESTROY THEM NOW!” He looked like using the magic was causing him pain, but he gritted his teeth and kept it up.  
  
“ri̷g̸h͡t.̸” Error released his hold on the creature, letting himself fall. Mid-fall, he lined up his Blasters perfectly with the threads, and gave them one last powerful blast, cutting through the fog like a beacon.  
  
The air filled with a static hiss, and suddenly you found yourself lying on the snow-laden ground, a cool breeze flowing past you.  
  
You sat up woozily, rubbing your head. What had happened? Were Error and Papyrus okay? “Error? Pap?” You called out, looking around the area. The fog had cleared, and you could see Error slowly righting himself, looking a little dazed, but no worse for the wear. But where was...?  
  
“OW.” The voice had come from behind you, and you turned in the cold snow to see Papyrus slowly sitting up, a red mitt on his face.  
  
“PAPYRUS!!!” You clambered into a shaky standing position, running over to him and embracing him. He wasn’t dead. He wasn’t gone like Toriel. You had buried your face in his armor, holding back tears.  
  
“H-HUMAN?? ARE YOU OK??” He placed a mitt on your back in a way that felt infinitely comforting. You laughed softly, looking up at him.  
  
“I’m okay, I...” Your voice trailed off when you got a good look at his face. There was a large crack in a similar place to the creature, and it was... leaking data. “P-Papyrus! Your face!”  
  
“WHAT? WHAT ABOUT IT?” He looked a little woozy, as though he was barely awake.  
  
You could hear the snow crunching behind you as Error approached, and he leaned down, getting a better look at Papyrus’ face. When you looked over at him, your heart dropped; he looked legitimately worried.  
  
“t̀h͠a̷t’s..̷.̶ no̶t g͠òo͠d..̧.́” He spoke under his breath, staring at the crack.  
  
“P-Papyrus, come on!” You stood, and took hold of one of the tall skeleton’s hands. “We have to get you... you need to see someone about that!” You helped him stand.  
  
“I DO??” If he had any comprehension about the situation, it wasn’t showing. You were freaking out now. Where would you take him? How could you fix it? You began pulling him back to Snowdin, and surprisingly Error was following closely behind Papyrus, the look of concern still very evident.  
  
“hey, you’re... what happened??” sans had been standing casually near their house when you had arrived, but at the sight of Papyrus he quickly came over, taking his brother’s other hand.  
  
“BROTHER, I DO NOT FEEL VERY...” Papyrus teetered forward dangerously, and you pulled in the opposite direction to keep him from falling on top of sans. The smaller skeleton’s eye sockets widened at the action, and he swore quietly under his breath.  
  
“c’mon pap, we’re gonna go home, kay?” He helped you walk Papyrus into their house, and the two of you carefully maneuvered him onto the couch.  
  
“SANS, PLEASE DO NOT... WORRY.” Papyrus furrowed his brow bones, but flinched in pain when it only seemed to make the crack wider, more data bleeding from him.  
  
“hey, who’s worried, bro?” sans chuckled weakly, carefully running a hand over the wound, his own left eye flaring blue.  
  
Whatever he had done, it seemed to have effectively stopped the data from running out of the wound, but... it was still there, threatening to start bleeding out again.  
  
“BROTHER, I THINK I MAY... NEED TO SLEEP...” Papyrus sounded very tired, his eye sockets slowly closing.  
  
“just a second, ok?” sans spoke with an odd authority, seemingly looking over Papyrus for the damage. Error suddenly spoke up from where he had stood in the doorway of the house.  
  
“it’s jús̴t the͟ c̨r͞a͟c̷k͘.̵” He had his hands stuffed in his pockets, and he too was staring very studiously and intently at Papyrus. “as lơng͢ ͠a͝s it doe̡sn͏’͟t͟ k͝ee̶p ͡b̸leed̷ín̸g͢..͏.͠”  
  
sans’ hand had froze, his entire body stiffening, then relaxing again. He didn’t acknowledge what Error said, but spoke to Papyrus again. “... you can sleep for a bit, ok? but then we gotta get up and go see someone about that.”  
  
“OKAY. GOODNIGHT, BROTHER.” Papyrus nodded off, but woke himself again, looking over at you and Error. “THANK YOU, HUMAN AND... HUMAN’S FRIEND...” He seemed like he wanted to say more, but was far too tired and had fallen asleep again.  
  
You exhaled softly, the intense tension in your chest gone. sans remained motionless for a moment, simply watching Papyrus, before standing straight. “we need to talk. outside.” He hadn’t even bothered to look at either you or Error as he brushed past, hands in his pockets. Your heart sunk.  
  
You stepped out into the cold, and stared at sans’ back. You felt so... small. Useless. He wasn’t saying anything, just staring at the sky. Error had come out behind you, and was now standing a little further away, closer to the Snowdin passage to Waterfall.  
  
“sans, I...” You began, but he cut you off.  
  
“i don’t know what happened. i don’t know if i can even **trust** what you’ll tell me about it.”  
  
That hurt, a lot. You’d never hurt Papyrus or sans during any of your playthroughs, and you never intended to begin.  
  
“I didn’t-“  
  
He cut you off again. “but i do know this.” He turned to face you. “it’s probably got somethin’ to do with your buddy over there.” He jerked his head towards Error, who gave him a dark look in return. “so look; do what you gotta do. go to the barrier, send him home. but do me a favor.”  
  
You swallowed, your throat feeling thick.  
  
Instead of the blank, black eye sockets you’d been expecting, there was something... different. Sadness. The usual white dots that were his eyes had gotten larger. “don’t come back unless you can fix this.”  
  
You really didn’t know what to say. The request stung, but... you could understand it. How could you explain any of this mess to sans, especially when you hadn’t even included him in the initial decision to find Error? “I’ll-“  
  
You were cut off again, but this time by Error. And he sounded angry, and sarcastic. “wow̛,̶ h̶o͞w ̸sa̛d̀.͟ S̡o ̕he̢'̧s̕ ̨inju̢red͞.͘”  
  
sans’ saddened look had turned to anger. “ **you have no right to talk.** ”  
  
“ơ̸͟h̶̕͟,͠ ͏̷ì̢ ̵̶d͢on’̨ţ̴̀,͡ ͘h̴̢uh̢̛͟?̴” Error was getting angrier now, his smile getting a little crazed. “y̨̕͝’̸ķn̶ow,̵ ͞i̵̸ ̕͟͠c̀oul̢͜d͞’̧v̷̷́ę ͜ju͠st̨́͟ **k̅̓ͫ͏͞ī̴̵ͪͧͬ̆ͤl̛̄̽ͥ̃l͆ͣ́̂̇͝e͛ͦ̾ͤ̂͝d̔̆͒͗̇͋̓͊̕͞** h̵im̨ ́̕t̨he̕͜n aņ̶d ̀͟͝t͝h̵̛e̵rè.̛ ͘͜͡a͞҉̵c̕t̸̛́ùá̴́l͜l̕y͡, i͡ **  
  
w̶̸ͥ̿̄̄̃ͫa̡ͮͦͬ͗͒̓͜nͥ͋ͩͤͪ̕͡t̨͑ͩ̓͂̽͐͛ͦ͝ȩ͋d̐ͧͧ̈̄̌ͣ͠͠ ** t̶͜o̴͘͜ d̵̨̛o͘͝ i͡t̡̀͡.”  
  
sans’ left eye had flared up blue, and his right eye had gone black. “i’m gettin’ really sick of listening to you-“  
  
“b͞u̢͜t̢̛ í̡ ͞͏d̡i̸̶͜d̕͟n’͝t̛. bec͏a̶͘us̶̨͠e ̢̢t̷̕h̀ey-̷̨ “ at this, he had gestured to you. “-͝w̡oú̡ld̢̨͘n̶͞’̶͘t ̨le͜t ͘me͢.̡ a̢nd ҉̕y̷̵̧o̵͜ų ̛k̸̡no̵w̸ ̕͠҉w̶̕h͡a̵͘t͢͢͟?̢? ̴͘y͡ơu̵͘ ̨͟s͢h̷͝ǫ̛u̷̸l͟͏d̴͢ ̴̶̨b̡͠e̕͝͏ g̶ra͜͝t́͠ęfu͏̸l̵!͟!̀́͡”  
  
“grateful!” sans spat, looking like he was going to attack Error. You backed up, Error now in front of you. Why was this...  
  
  
“ **ḃ̒͛ͧ̈́̒e̓̓̒̆̌ͤ͆ͨ̇̀̀c̡̈ͨ͂̄̇̆̑a̶̷̷͆͐ͭͣͮ̿̚ų̵̇ͧͭ̇̾̐̌ͤ̚s̸͋ͪe͊͑̽͂ͬ́͐̚ ̴̢͒̄ͫ̐͗ỹ̧̂́͡o̶͑͆̇͒̊̌̐ͣu͒̈́̎̀ ̡̨̓ͥ̃̏̉ŝ́̈́͋t̸̾̀̊̍͝i͂ͦ̓̐̽͐̈͋l̛̅̒̃͜l̷̄͛ͮ҉ ̵́̑̌ͤ͊hͤą̧̅ͩ̋̏̎ͫͧ͌̒͏v̶̶̽͋́̋ͮ̉͐́é̈́͘͝ ̾ͬ͐ͭͨä̧͆ͧ̍̾͒ͪ̽̚ ̚b̆̊ͪͦ̒̐͂͑͑̕͜ȑ̡̋̌̌ͩͥ̽͝oͫ͌̀t̶̑̿̚h̛̛ͤ̂̅͋͑ͦeͧ̔ͪ̏͐̓̀̚r̸ͣ͗̿͊ͥͤ̇͞ ̵̧ͩ͋̾̆͊͂̒̚t͑͐ͨ̑͋͊͛̃ͫ͠͠͝ő̡͆̽ͭ͝ ̸̔͋̄̚͞gͥ͊͗͌õ͑ ̷͋ͥ̽̆̆ͭ̊́͢h̴̵̨͗ͧ́̒̋̚ó̵̿̏͘͝m̆ͨ̉̓̕e̡͂͡ ͥ̽͌̀͒͡t̸̆̂̋̿ͥ̍ͩ̔͜ö̽̓͟!̐͂̏̿ͧ!ͨ̋́͜!̵̂ͪ̌** ” He had said it loud. His body looked like it was losing its consistency, and ‘error’ signs had begun creeping up into his eyes.  
  
sans had frozen at this, his magic dissipating as he stared at Error blankly. Then, slowly but surely, his body went slack, and he laughed weakly, sadly.  
  
“...crap.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “hey, kiddo, i’m... i’m sorry.” He sounded sincere, and he smiled weakly. You laughed softly, feeling your tension leave you.  
  
“It’s... it’s okay, sans. I know how much Pap means to you. I’m... I’m just sorry we couldn’t have done more.”  
  
He shook his head, leaving the thought unspoken. He eyed you and Error for a moment, before smiling a little more easily and chuckling lightly. “i’d go in for a hug, but...” He winked an eye. “i’m kinda worried your guard dog’s gonna bite me.”  
  
Guard dog? You looked over at Error, the realization coming over you that he had taken a rather protective stance in front of you, and had basically defended you against sans. “Oh!! sans!!” You scolded him, face flushed. Error’s cheeks had gone light blue, and he suddenly backed away from you as though you had some horrible disease, muttering what seemed like strings of panicked nonsense to himself.  
  
Your reactions only made sans laugh more and he shuffled past the two of you, back to the door of his house. “so... i’m probably not gonna hang with you this time.” You nodded, sobered by the idea. But at least you had Error. “i’m gonna make sure paps is okay.” He opened the door, and you could feel the heat from inside the house. You nodded in agreement again, unsure of what to say. You really didn’t want to say goodbye.  
  
“so, guess i’ll see you later, kiddo. stay safe.” And with that, he closed the door behind him.  
  
You stood in the cold for a minute, giving yourself a chance to process what had happened. Once you were certain you were okay, you turned and smiled weakly at Error. “So, you ready to keep going?”  
  
He seemed to have recovered from his embarrassment, nodding. “y̕e̷p̨.”  
  
So it hadn’t been a perfect ending to Snowdin, but... it was better.  
  
Now you knew there was a chance that all your friends didn’t have to die.  
  
You were going to cling to that hope like a lifeline. 


	8. DATA RESTORATION: 50%

**DATA RESTORATION: 50%**

The sound of rushing water was a bit of an assault on your tired senses, but at least the relative darkness of the caves balanced it out. When you passed the empty sentry station, you had to fight not to think about the sad look on sans’ face; it hurt too much to think about your friends right now. Instead, you rushed past it.  
  
The falling stones had never been too much of a challenge once you got the hang of it, and it seemed they would be even less so since they didn’t appear to be falling anymore. Maybe Undyne had forgotten to set it up? Now that you were thinking about it, would she even show up in her usual section? You doubted Papyrus would be there to give his report. You turned to Error to fill him in.  
  
“Undyne usually shows up in this next area, but she’ll leave if we just wait in the grass, there.” You pointed ahead at the tall patch of grass. “At least, she used to show up...”  
  
He looked like he was going to suggest just moving on, ignoring how you had normally done things, but when he saw the disheartened look on your face he paused. “we...̵ ͢uh,̵ w͞e mig͢h͟t̢ as̨ ̸wéll ͟do̸ i̶t.͠ ͟y’͘nev͡er͞ ̡ḱno͏w̸, ̸r͝ig̢ht?́”  
  
The sentiment had surprised you, and you couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah. We’ll have to be quiet, though!” You led him into the thick grass, and waited, listening for her. There was nothing for a while, then... a sound.  
  
It wasn’t quite the sound you were expecting; Undyne’s armor tended to clank when she walked. This was more of a soft, squelchy sounding series of pats on the ground. When the noises stopped on the cliff directly above you, there was only the sound of heavy breathing with the barest hint of static. You were frozen in the grass, using every fiber of your being to stop yourself from moving to get a look at whatever was above you. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, the noise moved to your left, and you finally caught sight of it.  
  
It had leapt off the cliff, landing on the bare path you and Error had just been walking on moments before. It was large, not quite as large as the previous creature, but big enough to be incredibly intimidating. The closest thing you could compare it to was a wolf; its fur was matted and rough-looking, its eyes barely more than small white dots set in deep green sockets. Its clawed feet appeared to be webbed, and it swished its tail, staring in a predatory manner at the patch of grass. Your breath caught in your throat; had it seen you?  
  
It slowly turned to face the river next to the path, and leapt into it, vanishing into the deep waters. You waited a minute, making sure it was gone, before exhaling.  
  
“s̛’t͟hat̷ i̢t̶?̛” Error questioned, standing from his crouched position. “di͟dn’͜t ҉loo̢k ͞too ̢t̴oug̨h̵.”  
  
“Says you.” You sighed, summoning the strength to stand. “That thing looked like it could kill me pretty easily.”  
  
“he̡y̢,͟ b̕ut i ͝t̵h̕o̡u̴ght͜ ̡yo͢u s̴ài͜d̨ ͜u̸ndynȩ ͟sh̀o͝ws̶ u͝p hère͢.̕ ͏i͠ş s̨h͟e ̧u͞su̷a̷ll͠y̨ wi͠t͝h҉ ̀tha̡t ͘th̵i̸n͞g̡?̛”  
  
“What? No. I’ve never seen that creature before.”  
  
“so͞ i̡t’s ́an̛o͝ther̢ ͢on͞e,̷ ̕t̵h̀en..̵.” He looked over at the river. “d͝o͜ ҉y̨ou th̷ink̶ it’s̕ ̢h̶er?̢”  
  
“I don’t... think so.” You frowned to yourself, exiting the grass. “It didn’t really look like her.” The strange monster you’d just fought hadn’t really looked like Papyrus. Maybe Undyne was okay.  
  
“ei͞t́her̀ wa͘y͘.̨.̧.” Error shrugged. “l̛ooks ͜liķe w͟ȩ’͢l̨l͢ h̕a̶ve ̢t͟o͝ de̛a̴l̢ w̕i͏t̵h̢ ̀it̛.”  
  
You nodded solemnly. You really hoped it wasn’t Undyne.  
  
~  
  
You hadn’t said much since escaping the creature, instead allowing a slightly uncomfortable silence to fall between you and Error.  
  
There was so much you wanted to ask him, but you’d never felt there was a particularly good time to do so. Not only that, but he seemed so unwilling to talk about himself to you that it was... frustrating. Everyone else in the Underground was so open with you, and while sure, there were a few monsters who liked to keep their secrets, none of them had ever gone so far as Error. You **wanted** to know.  
  
Again, he looked like he was in his own little world, paying attention to something you couldn’t see or hear. It wasn’t really **that** important that he talk to you as you travelled through Waterfall, but even a little acknowledgement would have been nice.  
  
“Hey, so I’ve got a question.” You spoke before you even really thought about.  
  
“ab͏o͞u̕t҉ ͜what?” He looked over at you.  
  
You glanced up at the ceiling, watching the way the gems embedded in it sparkled. “Do you have a brother?”  
  
He didn’t answer for a second, but you didn’t dare look at him. “i͡’ḑ.̷.̢. ͏r͞a̵the͏r͠ n͠o͠t͝ t͜a͘l̢k ab̡o͘ut ̴th̴a͠t͞.̵”  
  
He had deflected again. You couldn’t help but feel a little... angry. “Why is that?” You **always** dropped it. This time, you wouldn’t. How could you really help him if he didn’t even feel like he could talk to you?  
  
“ha̕͜ h̵͜a,͜ l̡̡oơ̸k̷͘͜,̷ ́͝i ͜j͠u̕ş̷͢t̀ ̛dǫ̸̵n’͢t ̀͝w͢a͟ǹ͟t̕̕ ̡̛͡to͏,̷̸͠ ̷̸o͢͠k͡͡?” He sounded irritated.  
  
“Then what **do** you want to talk about?” You stopped in front of the first bridge, turning to face him. “I’ve tried asking you stuff so many times, but you never want to talk about it. Why?”  
  
“b̢e̸͢c̕͟a͟͟͡u̴s̶̨ȩ͢͡ ͠į̢͡t ͏̀͡iś̨n̶’͟͢t̵ ́́a͘n̴̕y̧ o̸f ̴̸͞y̕͟͠o͠uŕ b͏͡us̛͘in̴͠e̢͠ss̀͞.̡͜” He snapped. His hands were curled into fists, and he was glaring at you.  
  
“It’s not?!?” You asked incredulously. “We’re stuck here together, and you’re telling me I don’t need to know anything about the person I’m trusting my LIFE with?!?” You could feel your pent-up emotions starting to bubble over, and you couldn’t control it. “I’m scared, Error!! I don’t know WHAT’S happening, and I don’t know what’s GOING to happen!!! And you expect me to just _pretend_ like everything’s okay?!?”  
  
“i̧ ͟n̵eveŗ- “ You cut him off.  
  
“ **I** told you some of the most terrifying things about myself, like my SAVEs and the RESETs, and you can’t even have the decency to tell me one **stupid** thing and let me help you!!!!”  
  
“ **bec̕͞a̸͞ųs̛͢e̴̸ _i̴͟ ̨̕͜d̕ó͞n̸'͢͜t͏̵͡ ͢͝͞ev̷̕͞e͏͝n̶̵ ̴k͡ńow͝_ ,̸͞ ̡̨̛o͝k̨̀a̷y̵͡?̴!̷̛?͏! ͟**”  
  
The air had suddenly been filled with “error” signs, and Error’s eyes had vanished, leaving empty red sockets. You flinched, taken aback by his sudden shouting.  
  
“ **d̊̃̾oͮ͋̉ͯ̈́ ̐̉͂̈͛҉ỳỏͯ̏ȕ ̕kͤ̍nͩͬ̓̒oͭͫ͌͐̈́̿ͩẅ̌͑ ͐͐̓w͜h́̈͂̚a̕t͂ ͝i̾̒̂̈́̆t̋̀͡’̷̅̀s ́l̊̄ͯ̈i̓͞ke͋̉̈ͫ̂̔̚͟ ̷̂͒̃̑͒̒̉ţͦͣͯo ͧͬ̓̅̌ͥ͌w͂̂̕aͯͦ̑͒̓ͤ̆kͭ͢ĕ̒ͮͥ͌ͯ̇ ͯ͌ͧu̵͋̌ͨͪp̀ͩ ͒ͦͬͫi͊́̋n ̀ͬ͋̂̊ͦͦtͣ̒ĥͪ̋̏̌̚é̸ ͗̈d̄͑̉͐ͯ͢a͝r͌̃ͫ̆k̂̀͛̇҉,̅ͤ̉̏͑ ͥͧ̂̊̈́̍n̡ͣͭ͌͒̆́̚o͜ť̀ͫ̋̐̔̚͠ ̨̄̉ͪͬ́͑̔k̑͗͗n͗͑̂͒̆̃o͆̔wͯ̿̇̂̏͌͗i̓͛̾nͫ̌ͫͯ̂́g̎̈́ͤ͑̚ ̑͛͟ąͥ͗̍̾̋͒̍n̓́ytͤ̋ͭͧͯ̈́h́͗̃̃̇́̚iͣ̔̍n͌g̢̍ͪ̄̑̂?̌̏͞!͌́ͮͫ̚?͏  
n̷̅ỏ͊̎ͯ̇ͦ̽t͛͏ ̌͌͆̔̐ͪͫk̓̌̾ͣ̃n̾̋̓̓ͪ͞ow̢ͫi͗n̂͘gͪ̌ͮ͑ͦ͟ ͌ͯͬ̈͆͑wͨ̌h͊̌̀̅̎̀e͋̆̀͊ͪ͋r͡eͥͬ̈̉̋̚ ͞y̨ͤ̑o̷̎͂ͣ̏u̔ͨ͒ͥ̃͋ ͒ͬ̊͊̂̽́w̄̑͛́e̽ͯ̽͜re̷,͛̉͜ ̛̔w̡͗͆͋h̴͌͗̚a̧t͐͒̈́͟ ̸͐ͩͭy͗̑o͛̈́̓̈͟uͮ̄̔̏͊ͮ̔ ̄̃̇͘wͪͩͥ̏̋eͪ̉͛͊r̷̐̄e̎ͯͦͧ̄?̏͆ͩͭͣ͋!̂ͩ̈͒̾̇?̸ n̂̈͟o̾t̛͆̃̃ͣ̂̚ ̋̋ͤ͛͋k̸ͭ̀n̵̐̔̇̃ͭ̍͊o͟w̧ͦi̎͑͗ͥͩn̿́ͨ͢ġ̚ ̌͒ͩ͑͋i͑͝fͪ̎ͦ̐ͣ͌̊͞ ̶ͭ̿̾͗a̶͐nͩ̾̽̈ͭ͠y͒͛͊̒͋͏o̵̓̓ͭͪ̇n̷ͭ͂ë̔̅ ̛͛́̐ͧͮẅ̵́ō̿̄̈́͗u̴̽́͂̓̊ld̿͗̈̔ͮ ͪ͗͌̚ _e̛͌̄̚v͞eͭ̈́̊̂ͣ̃n̓̍̾ ́͟c͌̂͋o̡̎̀̏ͬͩ͗̔mͥͨ͐̚͜ẻ̎͋̈́͌̄ ͒h̊͂͐ͨͥ͆èͬ̋͆̍҉l̡p̄͋͗͊̆̉ ̇̄ͧͬ̉ͧẏͯ̂ͧ̍ȍͩ̑̊̎uͫ̌ͨͬ̂̕_?ͤ!͠?ͧ̃ͥ̑͌͜!̴ ** ”  
His voice was becoming even more glitchy and static-y as he continued.  
  
“ **a͌̎̌̀͋̓͗n͊̉̇͑҉d̈́ͤ͛͒͠ tͨ͜h͒̌̎̈̇ẽ͆̾̌͜ń̉͂͒ͣ̚ ̓͆̽̾͊w̆͗͌ͮ̋̈́͗͘hë̎̅̀͆͌͘n̢ ͛̃̌ͯͤ͊̀ẏ͊͐͋ͨ̏͠oͧ́͠u ̷ͤͭͮ͑̓́f̢͋̈́ͥ͛iͥͮͬ̇nͮ͏à̐ͭͪ̎l̉̋̒̔̂l̷̿ͣͧy̆̽̊ ͬ͑ͬ̚tͧ̉ͯ̇ͨ̚h̑̒ͣͧî͆̐͒ñ̀k̉ y̢ͨͦ̔ͤ̈͗̄oͦ͝ǔ͒̑̀̇̔’͋ͫ̐̎̄vȇͧ̇̒̑̒ g̉ͭͫ̓ô̢̎ͭ̇̏t̷ ̨ͬ̍̅ͣ̎̾ṡ̿ȯͪ͊m͌ͥ̌̑̌̇eͦͮ̾̋ͮ̈̆͝th̐ͥ̓ͦͥ̉͊͝î̛̅̌͛͐̍nͮͨͩgͬ̓̋̉ͭ ͨͥ̆̃̕f͐̄i͂̓̾͑̋̌ḡ́͌́ŭ̐ͬ͐̕r̈́̌ͣ̅ͥ́eͣ̓d̵͌ͣ̓͛͋ ̈̈̅̾ͫͬ͂͜o͐͟u̧̔tͬ͟.̔̾̔̅͂̂͝..̀̋͏ ̾͌̂̒ͯͭ͜ ̶̷ͭ̐͢ Ş̛ͫ͒̈͊̐̅ͬO̢̡͗ͪ͊̂ͯ̽̈̈́ͬ͏M̎ͤ̀҉E̊ͪOͧͤ͏̢N̶̶ͮ̆ͣͯͨͨE̸̔ͮ͌̈́̇ ͆ͨ̏͒͆̒ͯ̈Ĉ̷ͧ͜O̿ͫͥͪ͗҉M̷̶̢͆͛Eͯͥ͛̓̉̂̉̆͘S͒̌̑ͭ͛̅ͤ́͟ ̷́̑͊̀Áͫ͠N̴͒̑̏ͮͣͧ̄̇D̴́ ̛ͫ̀̄̐̍͝Ř̛͂̓͡Î̛͂̓̇ͩ͂̚P̅͛̄̿̔̒ͭ͟͏S̾̈̎͊̾͌ͪ҉҉ ̷̓ͨ͐͐͊̀̓̑̍̀Yͯͪ̅̋O͊̍͐ͪȔͪ͋ͤ͋̄̓̋͡ ̈̉͊̅ͦ̄A̸ͮ̉ͫ̆̌̊̌ͫ͘W̴͌ͫ̿̔A̛͛̋͋̍̿͆̈͘͝Ý͊̎̂̾ͨͬ̕ ̓̿̌̄ͯ́F͐̓̔ͩRͤ̿ͬ̍͛͐͐̀Oͦͨͤ͊̍̐̿̕M̶̆͋͋͌͊̌̂̽̕͞ ͧ͗ͭḮͭͨ̿͆̃͌ͧ̓͟T̓ͨͤ͊ͪ̀̋̿͘͢͠?͊ͦ͌̅̒̀͘͟!̢̏̓͗ͮ͡!̃͗̈ͣ̐̂̀?ͤ̋͂̕͠͏!̋͌́̕ ̷ͮͧͮ̓ͧ̐̂̚** ” He was shaking violently, his eyes filling with “error” signs. He took a second to collect himself, before speaking again. “ **s̷̢͞o̴̷ _e͢͜x͏͏͏c̷u̷s̷̴̕e͡_ m̢͝͠ę ͠͏if̡̧̛ ̡̢i҉’͏m̕͡ ͘͝n̸͜͞ơ͜͞t͡ ̵̡e̶͠x̛́ac̸͘t̵́ļ́y̢͏ į̴n͏͢͜ ͢͟t̀h̵͜͡e̵ ͞‘̡fr̨̕͜ie͘͢ń̢d͝s͜h́͢i͢p’ ͠ki͟͡nd̵a͏͝ ̴̨ḿ͢o͢o͠͞d̛͟͞!͠!̡͟!̢͠ ̢** ”  
  
You knew, in the back of your head, that what he’d said made sense. But all you could think of right now was how hurt you were that Toriel was dead, how angry you were that some unknown monster had hurt Papyrus. And to you, the only difference in this playthrough was **him**. “I SHOULD HAVE JUST LEFT YOU IN THE RUINS!!!!” You shouted angrily, turning heel and running across the bridge. You hated him. You hated everything about him. _He didn’t belong here_.  
  
If he’d been about to retort, you didn’t get the chance to find out. Instead of the long bridge you’d been expecting, there was nothing. You stepped off the edge of the wooden panels and sailed down, straight past where water would normally have been, instead becoming stuck in a thick, black goop. Immediately you felt like your legs were burning off as soon as you hit the strange liquid, but because you had been running, you’d fallen in too far from the bridge to pull yourself up. It was sucking you down, the pain creeping up alongside it, and cried out in pain, instinctually flailing your arms for something, anything. In your panic, the second you felt your hand hit something you grabbed hold for dear life, and even when a familiar sensation pulled you up to safety, you still held on with a shaky hand.  
  
You were breathing heavily, and so was Error. The threads from your soul that were normally taut lay slack on the ground between the two of you, and you could see you’d dragged a bit of the black stuff onto the bridge; you watched with horrified fascination as it slid between the boards and back down into the water.  
  
You looked up at Error’s face. He was staring at the water, mystified and freaked out at the same time. Then, he turned to you. “are̡.͢..̴ ̛ar̴e yo͏u̕..͘.̛”  
  
“Y-yeah...” You checked your legs, relieved to see that other than being a little red, they were undamaged. “I...I’m okay.” You almost couldn’t believe you’d just forgotten about the sharp dip in the bridge like that. Stupid.  
  
You both just sat there silently for a while, watching the water. Then, you spoke.  
  
“Thank you.”  
  
“...” He didn’t say anything, but was staring down at his shoes.  
  
“I... I’m really sorry I got so mad at you.” You breathed in deeply. Apologizing was always so hard, but you thought of it this way; if you died, you didn’t want to leave on such a sour note. “I mean... I guess I **have** been kind of pushy, especially since this must all be scary for you, too.”  
  
“i̢t͡’̢s̶..͝. ơk͘a̷y̕.” He laughed softly, sheepishly. “y’kno͢w͘, ͡í ͘gues̸s͘ i̴ ki̵n͘da.̢..҉ ҉have͟ an a̶d̶v͘ant̸a̧ge ǫver yo̡u,͟ ͘an͝ywa̛y͢s̸.͜” Although he was smiling, he still looked so... sad. Small. “i’ve ̡ne̶v̀ér r̷e͝a̡lly ̀k̨no͠w͏ǹ ͏wh̀at̀ ́to e͜x͢pect ̶my͟ **en͝t͜ire ͝life** , bưt̡ ̸ţh͡is a͢ll̷ p̡r̀e̡tt̨y̕ ne̴w ́tǫ ̡you.”  
  
You smiled sadly. “Yeah... Guess we’re both in similar boats now, huh?”  
  
He chuckled, sounding more genuine this time. “y̨ea̷h͞.”  
  
You tightened your hand, and when you felt something on it, you belatedly realized that you must have grabbed Error’s hand when you were stuck in the goop, and more importantly... you hadn’t let go of it.  
  
It was the strangest sensation, one you had never really felt before. Sure, you’d held hands many times in your playthroughs, but it had never made you feel so... nervous.  
  
Your breath caught in your throat, and you felt your cheeks heat up. You tried to look anywhere but his face. “Umm... Error, we’re...” Why were you so nervous? You were just holding hands. With Error.  
  
“wha̡t̸?” He seemed confused by your sudden demeanor. He mustn’t have realized it yet, either.  
  
Unable to find the words, you closed your eyes tight and raised both your hands to show him. “o͡͝-̢̀͢òh!̷̶!̶̸!̷̵̛” He jumped, dropping your hand and backing away from you.  
  
“S-sorry. It must have been when...”  
  
“y͟e͠a̡h͏... y̵èah. ̕it̷’s.̸.͠.̛ fine͏.́”  
  
You both sat on the damp boards awkwardly for a few more seconds, before you both carefully stood. “So... should we keep going...?”  
  
“y͘ea͏h͢.̵” He nodded. “we’vę st́i͠l̀l҉ ̶ģo͜t̴ a͏ ̡l̕o̴t ̶of̡ ̵groun͢d͝ to̸ ͢co̢v́er,̢ ri͠g̴ht?̧” He was smiling casually again, and it relaxed you.  
  
“Yep.” You took a step forward, and if Error hadn’t suddenly jerked you back you were sure the sharp spike of liquid that came from the goop below would have killed you. You stared in horror at the now swaying and shifting liquid. That was right; this bridge was the first place Undyne attacked you. “We need to go!” You turned to Error, urgency in your voice, and from the corner of your eye you could see the wolf-creature from earlier lurking in the shadows by the nearby pillars, its eyes glinting in the darkness. “NOW!!!”  
  
You began running just in time as two more spikes stabbed the air where you and Error had been standing. “w͟h̴at ̀the-͠ “ He was cut off when you stopped him, another spike forming through the boards and jabbing the air in front of you.  
  
“It’s-“ You both dodged three more spikes, the assault becoming stronger the closer you were getting to the end of the bridge. “-that thing!!”  
  
“w̶he̸̴r̡̀e̷͏.̨͞” Error had gotten a dark look on his face, and you found yourself tugging his sleeve to pull him along.  
  
“Behind!!” Was all you could manage. It was becoming impossible to avoid the spikes, one of them slicing the side of your clothes a bit as you awkwardly tried to dodge it.  
  
Mid-dodge, Error turned and made his threads appear, pulling some that led off into the area of the pillars; almost as though it had been waiting there, an Error Blaster emerged from the darkness and fired at the creature. Caught off guard, it took the blast directly, releasing a wailing yelp and leaping into the water, its dark form retreating in the opposite direction.  
  
You knelt over, trying to catch your breath. Error was glaring in the direction the creature had run, looking like he sorely wanted to chase it down and beat it to death.  
  
When you’d finally caught your breath, you stood fully again. “Thanks. I don’t know how much more of that I could’ve handled.”  
  
“whate̢ver̷.̕” He brushed off the thanks, but he looked a little nervous. Probably still from the hand-holding thing, and you really couldn’t blame him. Even you still felt a little funny inside from that. Rather than bug him about it, you instead continued forward.  
  
“You know...” You began as you pushed through the tall grass, fully enjoying the soft swishing noise it made. “Usually Undyne would have been the one who attacked us there, but... I guess since Papyrus never came to report...” You trailed off. She must have by-passed you somehow and gone to Snowdin. She had to have. There was no way she was that creature.  
  
“wel͡l̀ it’d͝ ͜o̴n͠ly ̷b͜e ̀a͟n͘oth͝e̴r͟ p͏ŕơblem̶ a͜ny͢w͘ay̷, r̶i̛gh͡t?” Error supplied, pulling back large groups of grass with his threads rather than shoving through it. If he thought differently than you, he’d left it unsaid.  
  
“I guess... do you know Undyne?” You had been under the impression he didn’t really know anything about the Underground.  
  
“wel̸l̷,̴ not̛ **t̷h͡is̨** u͘ndyne̴. ̡b̴u̢t ̡i͞’v̨e ̵kn͘o͢wn̡ a͢ ̨few̵.” When he exited the grass, he let it all loose, and it made a loud whooshing sound.  
  
“Oh... from your work...?” You weren’t sure if you necessarily liked where this was going.  
  
“ỳeah̴.̛ t̢he͝y̶’re a͠ll͝ ͟prett̀y di͡ff́ęrent̴ t̀houg͘h̶.̕”  
  
“Really? How do you mean?” This was actually going to a more interesting place than you’d thought.  
  
“w͜e͡ll.͡..” His eyes lit up a little. “som͠e̷ţi̵m͠es she’s̢ ́a҉ ̵n̕er̀d; ̸so̷m͞etime͠s s͢he̵’s͝ u͜sȩļęs͡s; ̵som͠e̢ţįm̴e̡s͟ ͜s̨h̛e͢’̡s͜ a ͜gho͠st̛..͏.̡ ̴it͠ alm̵os͘t͜ ̛f͏ee̸ls͘ ͡l̀i̶ke ̀t̨h͝ȩré’̨s end͟l͡ess p̸o̢s͘si͠b̴i̷lit̕ies͡. exc̡ept͏, y̕’kn̕o͢w̶,̡ ͟the͏r̕e͡’s ͝no̢t.̴” He finished. He sounded sort of excited, yet at the same time a little tired.  
  
“Woah... so then, is there all kinds of everyone?” That was actually really cool. Was there a chance you’d see a super nice Flowey?  
  
“y͞e̷p͏!” He smiled at you. “éve͠n ͢o͜f̵ ͢mȩ!͠”  
  
“How about m...” You paused that train of thought when you noticed a strange gray door to your left. You’d never seen that door before. “That’s weird.” You approached it, trying the handle. It was unlocked.  
  
“w̷h͝a͟t̛?̡” Error came up behind you, looking between you and the door.  
  
“I’ve never see this before. Actually...” You surveyed the hall you were in. “This hall was never here before, either.”  
  
“w͏ȩ’ŕe͡ ̸los̴t?”  
  
“No, I mean, I recognize the room before this one and the next one. Just... not this one.” You frowned. Should you really go in this room?  
  
You were surprised when Error voiced the concern as well. “d̨’̴y͜ou ͢tḩink̵ i͠t’͡s̀ a͡n̶o̢ther gli͟tc̷h?̧”  
  
There was something... different about the room. It didn’t feel **bad** , like the creatures did, though it didn’t really feel _good_ , either. Still... something inside you felt like you should go in. So you carefully opened the door, and stepped into the next room.  
  
It was small and square, with absolutely nothing defining about it other than its complete emptiness. You walked further in, searching around for something, anything. But there was nothing there.  
  
“Weird...” You frowned, turning to face Error. “I wonder why...” You trailed off when you noticed he had an irritated smile on his face, though he wasn’t actually looking at you; he was looking **past** you.  
  
“So this is where you have been! I am glad I have finally found you.”  
  
The voice was sort of familiar, but different. You turned, and were surprised to see the tall, dark man you’d left in the void standing behind you. Gaster. He was smiling happily down at you, and you couldn’t help but light up at the sight of him. You’d thought you’d lost him!  
  
“Gaster!!” You embraced him; well, you **tried** to embrace him. Your arms went a little awkwardly into his inconsistent form, but you held them in that position, feeling a little like you were hugging gel. Very kind gel, but still, gel.  
  
When you pulled away, his cheeks had gone a little gray, but he looked happy. “I was worried I lost you.”  
  
You shook your head. “No, Error and I have been...” You furrowed your brows, realizing something strange. “Wait... I can understand you?”  
  
“Oh, I believe that may have something to do with my friend.” He had gestured his hand as though telling something to come out, and from behind him a small red soul floated out.  
  
“Oh... Well, it’s nice to meet you!” You smiled at the little red soul, and you could sort of feel it thrum in reply. It felt... strange. Before you had a chance to think more about it, Error had pulled you backwards by your soul, forcing you to stand further back and a bit behind him.  
  
“y̸o͋̂͋͌̈́̐ͮûͮ̈́͆̇̏.ͭ̾ͣ” Error was angry, to say the least. He was starting to collect ‘error’ signs. “y͒͑̏̉ͣͥ̚o͊̿̑͋u̐̀͆͢ ̎̈ͪ̍͊ͪͯtͣ̄ͬ̄hĭ̆̑̉̃ͧ̋n͋ͫk̷̓ͥͣ ̨ͥ̐ͯ̉̈́͋ï̐̊͑̏͐̌t̕’̴̒̂s̶̍͋ ̊͂ͥ̎̍̐f̷̈́ͧu̎ͧ̓̅ͯn̵͆̓n̾y̽ͪ̓̍̾͌̅͞ ͧ̾͌͂͗t̓̿o̅̑͛͑͊̂͜ ̎s̵͌ȇͭͧͩͯ̐nͣ̃̆̅̈͂̽̕d̈́͐̋͑̐͒̊́ ̔͐̎̓mͨ̈ͯ̓͋͡e ͂͢pͣ̋̏̋ͪl̐̍͒ͨ̋̊͟aͮc̎̐ͦe̊͑̆͑͢s͢ ̔ͫͥ͗̔ͯ͝ļͧ͛ͨi̎̏̒̇ͭ̑͂k̡e͐̈ ̋̐̓̆̄̚̚t͑ͭ͌hi̔̂s̷̿̓̓̀ͩ̃?͗̓!ͥ͑̇̎͊?̌̋͋̃̇̎͢ ͋҉t͐̀̽͢a͏k̎̂̽͛̔ͭēͩ̆ͥ͢ ̆͋̽̊ͤ͟m̄̽̈̉̄̑e̿ͥ ҉b̐̉̿́͛ȁ̶̓̑̀͒ͧ͛c͂̇̑͑͏kͬ̉͌͐.̇ͮ ̡͌̐  
  
**n̶̨͛͛̆ͧͦ̏̽̀͠o̽ͣ̒̋͒̂ͩ͌w̧̅ͤ̅ͯ̓̀ͤͭ͑̀**.”  
  
Gaster gave Error a very cold look. “I do not find anything about this situation funny. If I were capable of sending you back, I would not hesitate.”  
  
  
“yo͐͂̒̽̑ͣ̈͞ȕ̄̀ͥ̈́ͨ.͛̒̒̏́.̶ͬͯͨ.lͥ̈̚i͂ͯͧ̉̚ȃrͩͫͪ̽̂͂́.̋ͦ̚̕ ̇ͨ͐̒ͪ̓́y̵ͦ̓ouͫ̉͊͑̉̒͐ ͋̍͂͞s̆̈̚é́̾̕n̡t̏̉̅̓̎͊ͭ ͛ͮm̆͛̿̊ė̎̌́ ̸ĥ̨e͊r͆̈͝eͤͨ̓ͩͩͫ̿͜!̧̋ͩͭͬ̃͗” The threads around your soul tightened, but you couldn’t tell if Error had actually meant to do it. You flinched, pressing a hand to your chest.  
  
“This place is not where I had intended to send you.” Gaster looked between the angry Error and you, clearly seeing the connection between his anger and your pain.  
  
“n͂n̾̆ͣn͒͐͢n̂͌n̶̉̊͂̑.̧ͤͪ̾.̨̍̑ͩ.̅͊͗.ͫ́̾͆̆̆͡” Error was struggling with himself. It seemed like part of him wanted to accept that it was unintentional, but another part of him just couldn’t. There was a sudden burst of ‘error’s, and his eyes had vanished.  
  
  
“ **s͛ͣ̀̐ͨ̑̀̕͟t͋ͬ͢o͛̓͝p̶̛̎ͪͯ̊̋̉̌̎͢ ̒̏͂͡l̶̨ͭͯ̋͛͌͒y͂ͬ͏iͥͬnͦ͆ͪ̐̌͑g̾́͌͒̿̾ͩ҉ ̈ͤ̍tͯ̅́̇̀ͯ̆o̴̢͋̊̐ͩ̉ͩ͐̃ͩ ̏̉ͨ̈ͧͧ̒͏m̢ͧ͜ê̄͛̀̓͏̵!ͭͯ͐͌̇ͫ̀͘!̛ͯ̎̐̋!̶͗!̶̓ͩͦ̏ͬ̉̐͒͂͜!͌ͥ̍͗ͪ͢ ͐ͮ̔̍ͦͬ͞͏** ”  
  
Error used the threads on his other hand to try and grab the little red soul, but it easily avoided the attack, shifting itself calmly out of the way. At the same time, you panicked, grabbing the threads attached to your own and pulling, making Error stumble backwards and onto the ground. It had really hurt, but... at least he looked normal again. Surprised, but normal.  
  
“Error... please, he’s... he’s telling the truth. He wouldn’t have attacked if he’d known I was going to be in the way.” You gasped out, each breath hurting a little less and less.  
  
Error clenched his hands, giving you a hard look. When you didn’t relent, he sighed heavily, standing. The threads around your soul had vanished again, as did the ones he had attacked with. Though he chose not to say anything, you could tell he wasn’t going to try to FIGHT again.  
  
“Gaster.” You took a breath, turning back to the tall man. “Do you have any idea what’s happening? Everything’s been... weird.”  
  
He looked very sad. “I am afraid... I cannot help you in that regard.”  
  
“Oh...” You stared down at your feet. So he didn’t know, either. But wait, couldn’t he teleport himself? “Then, could you at least bring me and Error to the barrier?” You asked, filled with hope.  
  
He looked away from you. “I am afraid I cannot do that, either. I do not know if I can safely transport either of you in this place.” So then... you were stuck here, going the long way. “I am terribly sorry...” And he **did** look very sorry. He had de-constituted a little from going slack.  
  
You smiled weakly up at him, placing a hand gently enough against his arm so that you didn’t accidentally stick it all the way in. “It’s okay, Gaster. We’ll make it. I mean, we’re already pretty close.”  
  
“Indeed.” He pulled himself together a bit. “It is quite impressive how the two of you have managed to form a... bond of sorts.” He looked between you and Error. For some reason, you felt your face heat up a little at the observation, and when you looked at Error he was studiously avoiding looking at both you and Gaster.  
  
“So, will you be coming with us?” You asked him. You really wanted him to say yes.  
  
“Unfortunately we will not.” He had folded his hands in front of himself. “I wish to... investigate the cause of these anomalies further, and perhaps find a viable solution.”  
  
“Ah, that’s fair enough.” You laughed a little. It **would** be helpful to have a backup plan, in case Flowey couldn’t help you, or worse, was...  
  
You didn’t want to finish the thought, remembering the dark, spiky thing you’d seen. No, Flowey was fine. He had to be.  
  
You shook the thought off. “Besides, I’m not too worried about getting there. I think we’ll be fine.”  
  
Error seemed a little smug when you said that, though he pretended he wasn’t paying any attention to the conversation. Gaster cleared his throat, and you looked back at him.  
  
“Yes, well... if you ever find yourself in a difficult situation, do not hesitate to call for me. I will come.” He was so kind; how had you never met this man on any other playthrough?  
  
“Thank you, Gaster.” You took one of his white hands and gave it a little squeeze, before releasing it. “Me and Error should probably get going.”  
  
“Indeed. Please, be safe.” He waved a little to you, and the small red soul seemed to echo his sentiment. You gave it a smile, and turned to Error.  
  
“C’mon, we can get going now.”  
  
He followed you back to the door, but paused, turning to face Gaster. “t̸his ́isn͏’͏t̵ o̷v̶er, ͢gl̀i̶t̀ch.̕” It wasn’t a statement, it was a promise. It filled you with dread; did that mean he was still going to kill you too after this was over?  
  
You didn’t want to know the answer.  
  
~  
  
You continued on, pausing momentarily by the prank telescope sans would usually be standing by, feeling sort of sad when he wasn’t. Error must have noticed, because at that moment he decided to walk ahead a little, and ask you a question. “s͞o͢, ͏y̨o͞u kn̨o͜w̴ ̕ąb̵oút͢ these fl͡o͘we͢r̀s, ̀right̸?̢” He was gesturing to the echo flowers, and you followed after him, nodding.  
  
“Yeah. They repeat the last thing they heard.”  
  
He approached one, leaning down closer to it. “i͜’v͘e ͜alẁàys͝ ̛kin͞d ͜of w̶o͠ńd͘ere͠d íf̨ ̶yoư co͏uĺd͝ ́ta͞k͏e ͡one͟ w͜i͠th ̷y͠ou.̶ y’͡kn͢ow, ͠to re̡m͘em͝b̷e̛r ͏st̴uff́.͜”  
  
“Stuff like what?” You watched the quiet, glowing blue river flow gently towards the edge of the cliff.  
  
He shrugged, laughing a bit. “i du͘nn̶o͏. ̛a͜n͡y͘t̀hin͟g̕, i g͡ue͢ss.͡”  
  
“Hmm...” You walked up to an echo flower, listening to it repeat the last thing it heard, quietly and repetitively. “I think all that whispering might make me a little crazy.” You laughed, stepping away from the flower. “Especially if I had to bring it with me all the time.”  
  
Error had gone suddenly silent, and you got worried, approaching him. “Hey, are you... okay?”  
  
“h͏u̕h?̸ ye̕a͝h̷, ̴i͜’́m.͡..̀” He looked almost... ashamed. Upset. “i’m ́f͟in̛e͏. ͡ju̵st̡ ͟f͘ine̛.̧ ͞w̨e shou̸ld ́ke̢e̛p̡ ̷goi̛n͡g̕.” He briskly walked away from the echo flower, ignoring all the others in his path.  
  
“... why was he so upset...?” You spoke the thought aloud quietly staring at the flower, before chasing after him. It was just another question you’d have to add to the pile.  
  
~  
  
You were walking through a dark, watery passage, humming lightly to yourself, when you heard Error speak up from behind you. “uh...f/̕n..͠.̴?”  
  
“Hmm? What is it?” You turned to face him, and he was pointing to a long, pale yellow tentacle that had risen from the water.  
  
“t͞hi̢s ͢i͝s͡.̵..̧?̛” You stared at it for a second then laughed.  
  
“Oh! He’s one of my friends! Come on!” You walked back a little ways, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him along with you. Part of you felt a little excited, not so much for seeing your friend, but for the fact that Error didn’t seem to mind you holding his clothing. It wasn’t much of a step, but... any step in the right direction was a good step.  
  
When Onion-san slowly rose from the water, that adorable look on his face and a slowly drawled out “heeeeeyyyyyyyyyy...”, the only word you could use to describe Error’s face was ‘priceless’. It was a mix of the sort of look you’d have after being smacked in the face, and unimpressed disbelief.  
  
You couldn’t control the laugh that escaped your mouth, and as Onion-san talked, you could hear Error speaking to you quietly, under his breath. “w͡hy.” It made it even harder to control yourself, and Onion-san laughed along before asking why it was you were laughing.  
  
Even when Error started walking forward, you following after, Onion chased after the two of you. He continued on in his cheerful spiel about loving Waterfall, and how Undyne would fix things, chattering away no matter how hard Error was trying to ignore him. By the end of the room, when you swore he was about to lose it, you bid farewell to Onion-san and high-tailed it out of the room, towing Error behind you by his jacket.  
  
“wh͝y̕ do͘ all ͢you͡r f̵ri͏e̢nd̴s ̧ha̴ve̷ to̸ be͘ s̴o ̶annǫy͏i͘n͠g?̛!?̷”  
  
You could only laugh in response.  
  
~  
  
The water was pattering down from above in this room, so you had grabbed an umbrella, quickly handing it to Error. Normally, you would have doubled back to give the statue and umbrella, but... in this playthrough, it wasn’t your top priority. You didn’t need to hear Memory.  
  
He stared at the offered umbrella, getting a little wet before he finally took it, and you grabbed your own. You playfully ran ahead, sloshing through a puddle and soaking your shoes. You didn’t really care, it wasn’t like you ever got sick.  
  
Error was following behind at a slower pace, just watching you play around in the water. “you͡ s͠eem l͏i̸k͟e ̀y͢o̡u h̡ąvè ͢fu͡n̷.”  
  
“Of course!” You flashed him a smile before twirling your umbrella, watching the gathered water fall off of it in a swirl of droplets. “If you never stop to enjoy little things, how can you ever appreciate the big things?”  
  
He didn’t seem like he had an answer to that, and so you kept going. “I mean, I **am** still really upset about all this. All my friends, all the things I knew, they’re... different. A bad different. But if I don’t let myself appreciate what’s still the same,” You stole a glance at him, making eye contact and quickly looking away. “and what’s good... then I don’t think I’d have the strength to keep going.”  
  
“g̴o͢o͢d.̵.̛.” You heard him mutter to himself through the droplets, but chose to pretend you hadn’t.  
  
“Besides...” You stepped out of the dripping caves, folding your umbrella. “Stuff always has to work out, one way or another.”  
  
There was a short, oddly comfortable silence between the two of you until you reached the perfect view of the castle, and you paused. “See, we aren’t too far from the barrier. We just have to go through Hotland and the CORE.”  
  
“and̨ t̛h͟en i’̨ll̵ b̕ȩ ͝o͟ùt ̀of́ ͟h͟e̡ŗe.͏” Error said with a sense of finality that admittedly made you feel a little sad.  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“wȩll.̕..́” He gave you a sideways look. “ **w̴a͞te̷ŕ** we wa̵i̛tin̸g͞ ͞for?͢”  
  
“Pfff.” You laughed, opening your umbrella again and continuing on towards the small cliff. “You’re lucky I give you free **rain** -ge with those puns!”  
  
“y̷o̡ų ҉ma̶k̷e̵ ͝m̶e͟ ̡s͏o̵uńḑ ̕l͢íke a big̷ **dr̴ip**.” He retorted with fake hurt, stopping and handing you his umbrella when you gestured for it. You neatly collapsed each umbrella, and deposited them into the metal holder. You laughed softly, giving him a warm look.  
  
“You know, even if you say you’re a glitch, I don’t really think you’re bad.”  
  
He looked taken aback, and realizing what you’d just said you opted to quickly walk over to the ledge, pretending you’d never said it. “Uh, so! We need to get up this cliff. It’s not that high, but...” You furrowed your brows. You’d look like a huge dork climbing up the way you usually did. It was one thing to embarrass yourself in front of Monster Kid (strangely absent, but you chalked it up to the fact that you were certain Undyne must be in Snowdin), but embarrassing yourself in front of Error?  
  
He had walked up next to you, seemingly recovered from whatever he’d felt from your previous admission, and looked up at the top of the ledge. “what̴? c͞an’́t͞ c̴l̢i̷mb̴?̛”  
  
“I can!” You frowned petulantly at him. “I just... ugh, forget it.” You closed your eyes tight, preparing yourself. You’d embarrassed yourself plenty of times before. Why stop now?  
  
When you opened them again and looked up at the cliff edge, Error was already standing at the top, smiling down at you as though he’d always been up there. “Wh-what?!? You could do that the whole time?!?”  
  
He chuckled, shrugging. “n͞e̴ver ̀said ̴i ͝could́n’t.́”  
  
“You cheater...” You muttered. Now you would look even stupider. You raised a hand to grab the ledge, and instead found it had grabbed light blue thread. You looked up questioningly at Error, and he was avoiding eye contact.  
  
“j̡us͠t͡ ̢hang̴ ̶on,̛ ̧o͡k̸?” You did as he said, and he lifted you up the ledge, bringing you to stand next to him. You released the threads and stared up at the ceiling, where they seemingly dissipated into nothing.  
  
“Your powers are so cool, Error.” You commented, feeling jealous. You’d practically be a superhero, with powers like that!  
  
“h͝èh̛, yéa̶h?” He flexed his fingers, staring at them. “g̡uess͜ ̵s͡o.͢.̡.͠”  
  
You smiled at him, but it slowly faded as you turned and looked at the next area. The second bridge Undyne normally attacked you on. “Do you think... do you think that thing’s still following us?”  
  
He followed your gaze. “who̷ ͠k͏no͏w͝s҉.̛” He got a scary look on his face, smiling wider. “iţ w͘as ki͞nd ̸o̶f ̷a ́qui͝t̛ter.̢”  
  
“Eheheh... I really hope it’s not there...” You took a deep breath. There was no other way to go, though.  
  
~  
  
You cautiously stepped into the room, mentally cursing the wooden planks beneath you for making so much noise as you stepped over them. You really didn’t want to be slightly too late to avoid an attack. Fortunately, it seemed that wasn’t going to be a problem.  
  
Through the darkness, you could see the creature. It was standing on the largest square of the boardwalk, looking in the opposite direction. You froze, worried you had been making too much noise, and turned to Error, pointing it out. He squinted into the distance, and then gave you a blank look. Could he...not see that well? You’d really have to ask him later.  
  
You instead leaned closer to him and whispered as quietly as you could. “It’s that thing.”  
  
Even your quietest whisper wouldn’t have helped with what came next. A loud, screeching sound suddenly reverberated around the room, causing you to cry out in pain and cover your ears. It seemed it had the same effect on the creature, because its ears flattened instantly, and it wailed, thrashing its head. It turned quickly, and growled viciously, launching itself at you and Error.  
  
Without any real options to avoid it, you ran towards it and onto an adjacent bridge, grasping Error’s jacket to force him to follow the motions; if he couldn’t see that well, he wouldn’t notice the creature until it was too late.  
  
Unprepared for you to suddenly pull him, he stumbled when you’d stopped moving, his foot missing the bridge. He began to fall over the edge, and because you were clutching his jacket you’d begun to fall down as well, and your mind flashed with panic; you’d never fallen down here. Where would you land?!? What if you died?!?  
  
_All you’d need to do to save yourself would be to let go._

But you refused.

You could hear that horrible screeching sound again, and saw the surprised look on Error’s face as you both fell off the bridge. Light blue filled the sides of your vision.

And then there was black.  
 


	9. DATA RESTORATION: 60%

**DATA RESTORATION: 60%**

You were floating in nothingness.  
You couldn’t feel or see anything.  
You closed your eyes tightly, and opened them again.  
You could see the entire Underground laid out in front of you, devoid of anything living. Your friends were all gone. You reached out to touch it, but your hand instead pressed against something invisible, a barrier.  
But you’d broken that before, hadn’t you?  
_No, that’s right. You’d RESET._  
And now all your friends were dead. You were killing them all, one by one.  
It wasn’t okay.  
It wasn’t normal.  
_It wasn’t RIGHT._

 

You woke with a start and a horrible pain in your head, your ears still ringing from the screeching noise. What had happened? Looking around the room, you were shocked to see that you’d somehow landed not in the dump, but in the small, quiet nexus that led to housing in Waterfall. How did you end up here? When the ringing had finally begun to die down, you could hear a familiar voice speaking.  
  
He sounded like he was muttering to himself, and when you turned to look at him, you could see he was pacing a small distance away from you. “E-Error?” You called out to him, but he didn’t respond.  
  
You stood, a little wobbly, but otherwise unharmed. “Error, what... what happened...?”  
  
He wheeled on you, looking furious. “ **y̧o̵u͏̀ ͏҉k͜n͟o̡w̸̧ ex̷͡a̡͜ć͏t͏ly͠ ̢w̷͘ha͜t͠͡ ͢͜h͘a͢p̵͟͠p̀è̷͜n͞ed͢͢͏,̶̢ ̡͡d͢ǫ̢͟n’̡̕̕t̕ ̛y̶̡ơ̕u͜?̢ ̸͞** ”  
  
You were shocked by his sudden attitude; he sounded so accusing. “What? What are you-“  
  
“ **d̵́on̵̛’t̛ ṕr̵e͡t̶e͘͢͝ņ̶d͜͝ yó̸͢u̵ ̛͘͞d͝o͟͟n̶’̛͘t̸͠ ͟k̕͘n͏̶ó͝w. ̸** ” He summoned his threads. He smiled coldly. “ **a͡c͘͞͏t̸i̶҉n͏̨́g l̸i͡k̵̵̀e͜ ͢y͟òu͢ ̢dí͢d̶̢n̕’t̶͘ ̵̸kn̶͟ó̢͡w̕ ̨͜t̀h̶i͜s͏̸̷ ̵͠w̷͘͠ho̸l̢̡e t͞i̷̵m̷̀͠e̴, ̸̴j̶̛͡us̡͝t́͜͠ ̛s͘͜ǫ͟ y̡͟où̵ ̴co̡u̧̢ĺ̕ḑ ̶͘s̴c͝r̴͡e͏w ̴̢wi͏th̛ ͏m̶͜e̵?̢!?̡͢͠ ̡͡** ”  
  
“I’m not pretending anything, Error.” You took a step back, not that it would do you much good. He had your soul trapped. “Just calm down, okay?”

“ **c̨̍̔̆͐ȁ̒ͯ͊͗͛͠l̂̔͏͝m͗̆̃̽ͬ͘ ͬ́d̉ͫ̈ͫ̇͛͐̌o̾͂̑̽͏͝wͦͥn̛ͦͯͤͯ̏҉͠?̆̄́̉͌̾͋ͧ͟!͋?͐͋̾ͮ͆̀̅̀ ͥͯ́̆̀͝y͗ͥ̍͡ǫͤ͐̈̂͊̚ư̒ͯͯ͘ ̶͊̇̇wͩͥ͒́́ąͣ̄̄͂͐̃̾̒n̸͂ͮ͒͆̚͝͝t̛ͥ͞ ̑̽̊͆͋͑̚҉m̎̏ͪ͒̏̆̾ͧe̡̓̇͆́ ̀͗̀ͣ̽ͧ͞t͊͑̐͢o̢͗̆̅̆̍̅͢͏ ̷ͣ̋̈́ͭͤ̉̕c̷̆̿̈a͆̐ͤl̨ͣ̏̒̐m̵ͦ͆͛̌̊͒ͤ͒͠͏ ̛͊̿͛ͫ̓d̸̆ͤ̈́ò̡ẅ́ͣ̐̈̾̈͂n̶̋̎̈́̔ͨͬ̋̽ͪ͟?̷̢̋͌!̸̛̇̈?͂̑͌̃ͨ͊̀̕͝ ̸ͨ̔̏͗̑͜** ” He was laughing, a maniacal amusement in his voice. “ **y̋͂͂͑̈́o̴̓̌̒̇̀̕u̴͊̽ͤ͆͒͐ͥ͟ ̴̵̄̽̀͐̆ͦͮ̀̃t̢ͩͦͣͫ́ͨ̇̍̃r̵̛ͨ̍͊ͬ̈́a͆p̶̆ͫ͗ͧͣ̍ ̔ͬ̽ͨͨ͝m̛͗̽͘͠e̛̓ͥ̈́ͤ͑ ͂̑̐̃͌̽̎͠h̷ͫe͗rͮ͋̎̎́̋͂̚̚e͋ͫ̉͊͑͛.̴̷͒͌̊ ̸͛ͨ̿ͫ͞** ” He pulled on

your soul, wrenching it from your chest and causing a blossom of pain. “ **yͪ͂̍ŏ̷̄ͣ͟u̴͆ͧ̐ͪ͆ ̶ͦ̂̈́͑̐̆͠p̨̡͛ͭͦr̶̎̈͋̅͌̀ͦ̃eͤ̕t̀͘͘e͆ͯͨ̎̉̒͞n̨̂̓̀ͫ̚d̴̨͋̆ͥͨ̏̾̂͐ ̄͌ͦͤͫ̕͠yͫ̓ͭͨ͘͢͝o̴͋ͮ͐u̧͒̑ͮ́̌͊ͩ̽̚’̶̵̂ͧ̉ͫ͞r̵͊ͧ̚̕ė̢̐͌̄҉͟ ̊͜͡i̧ͭ̿̕n͊̃n̋͗ͫ͠͡ơ̷̒͐̓̈ͭ͗͆c̛̍͌̈ͧͨ̒̚̚̕͡e̵͊͟ń̷͋t̎̓̓ͯ̎ͯ.̢̏͛ͬ̓̓̀ͤ̚͠** ” He pulled it harder, and it felt like a knife was cutting into your body.  
  
You gasped in pain, trying to hold it together. “ **y̽ͧ̊ͭ̆̇͗͒͜o̡̾͑̕͜ů̽ͪ̒ ̆͐ͮ̔̑m̀ͥ̄̿͊ä̛́͐͐̃̓ͥk̛̑̌̅ͭ́̕ȩ͋͊̈́ͬ͊ͩͧ̀͞ ̢́̉͌͑̕͟m̧̽̍ͫ̐̐͑͂e͗͆̽͆̆҉.̴̋̄̋ͤͪ.̑͒̓͊ͦ͌̉͡.̧̢̓̊ ̂́͒͂́͞T̵̡ͮ͆ͤͦǍ̡ͣͧ̃ͫͭ̓͋͂L̈́̔̃͗̓ͣ̀͢K̛ͤ̅̐̀͛̾̑ͣ̅ ̓ͨͪͧ̆ͣͬ̔͏a͊̍͘b͆͒ͫͤ͐oͨ͌̓̐ũ̴t́̓̏҉̢ ͋ͨ̾̿҉͏̧çͩ͂̐̏̅͝r̊̾ͤͫ͜a̡ͦ̎ͩ́ͪͤ́p̷̢ͦͣͫ̄̇̈́̒̐ ͋͂̿̎̂̋̚͏́i̾ͫ’̛ͦͦͪͩͨ̈́̚d͛̌̐ͪ̆̀̀ ̊rͩ̉̎ͯ͐̒̑̇̀ả̢̛̾ͯ͋͋̓ͬ͋t̓́͐̋͜͡͝ḧ̡ͥ͛̈̌̊͌̇e̸ͦͩ̇͒̈͛r̢̃ ̵̨̔̔̍̎ͮͥf̌̎̌́̏ͥ̓͋̀o̶̐̿͝rͬ̈́͑͐̍͠ğ̴̓ͤ̾ͣ͝e͛ͯ̒ͪͦ̈́̈͏t̶ͭ͌̐̇̐̍̓ͦ̀.̇ͭ̃͊̔̒ͧ͘ ̴̃̉̑͋̌͐̐** ” He was squeezing your soul so tight now, it was getting hard to breathe.  
  
You had to snap him out of it. “ **s͋ͧ̀̏ͮͪo̴̡̽̈́͗̅̆͋̄ͤ͝ ͗̃̑w͑ͩͫ̌̃̓ͤ͘h̀ͧ̈́ͪ͌͌͢a̡͐ͬ̈́ͥ̊ͬͨͨ͟t̆̔̔̍ͥͯ̌ ͌͌w̨ͩ̆͌ͥ͊̓̔̚͜a̛ͦͭ̀s̡̐̀̓͊̍̓͝ ̉̆̉̆ͬ͜yͩͤ̂̚͞oͮ͋͗̃ͥ̍̌̚̕͢͞ųͨ̌̌̎̋ͣ͞r̸̢̂̒̂ͫ̌͂̒̒͝ ̷̵̛̔̉ͩ͌̇e̐͏n̴͛͊ͥ̽͂͛̃̈̀d̀̐͆̃ͨ͑̈́͑̕g̓ͨ̿́͏â̴ͨ̑̅̚͘͢m̢̢ͪ͒͛̍̐̎͋ͫ͝e̡ͭ,̿́͗̇̑ͮ̄͛͜ ͧ͌͋ͫ̊k̨ͨ̈́̈͜i̴ͥ̉͜͞l̾ͣͮl̴͂͐̑͑̍̒̕î͆̉͋͏n̄̑̋͐̔ͩͯͣğ̡̔ͬͩ̓͢ ̾ͯ̌́̚̕m̷̸ͬ̎́e̋̌̈͌̔ͫ͒͆̈?̽̈͛ͤͫ̑̾͏?ͮ ̆ͪ̎͜͡s̆̈́t͌͐ͧͮ̌́ͩ̏o̢̔ͯ̑p͊͏̴p̢̨͒̏ỉ̡̌ņ̶ͩ̊ͤ̆̎g̵ͫͮ͗̅ͨ̄̋͆̑ ̸̸̄̒m̢͗̏͋̎͋ͨ͗͑̇ė͌̐͘͠ ̈̈́ͦ͆̏̈́̈́͐f̊̑ͫ͗̈͏r̷̸ͨͮo͆̎̿ͭ̒ͩ̍ͬ̄̕m̨̑͐͠ ̿̾ͣ̕d̡̍̿͜o̽i̛̾̽̎͗͒ͦ̀̈́͊͟nͭ̃̑ͯ̌ͨͫĝ̆͜ ̶̨̿̿ͨͩ̋ͯ̇͛͜mͬͬy̡ͯ́́̀͝ ͮ̓ͨ̄̈́ͥj͌̍͝ō̡̓͛̉̔̓͞͏b̶̛͊̒̊͐͐̈́͛ͮ͠?̵̧̈́̇̔ͩͬ?̓̾ͣ̉̿ͣ̈́͏̕͢?̨̓͒ͮ͡ ̇̾̎̓ͯ͏̷͞** ”  
  
“Error, please! I don’t know-“ He cut you off with a vicious tug, making you fall forward onto your hands and knees in pain.  
  
“ **w͝͡ȩ̵ll̷͘͜ ̨͟g͝ưes̢̢̀s̸̵̨ ̴̛wh͟a̕t͝͏?̨͜͏ ̨͞i̵’́͢͏m͢ ̕no̸̷t f͟a͏ļ̢͠l̷̛in̷’͞͠ ͘͠f͡o̸̧͜r ̧͡ì̧t̕̕͡ ҉͟a̷̛n̵y̡mò͢r͘͘e̢͞. ̴̵͡** ” He leaned down, using his threads to force you to look up at him. He had no pupils anymore, his eyes slowly spilling over with ‘error’ symbols, and a smile that sent chills down your spine.  
  
“ **i͓ ̣̰̟͍̜͚̣́d͓͓͎̫ͤ̀ͅo̘̠ͯ̽ͭ̏ͤ̃̕n̶͐ͤͬ’̭̇t̵͇̲͕̻̼̰̽ͫ͌̏̐̚ ̝͉̾ͧ͆̑ͬ̚e̞̣̦̫̥̼̜̐̈̌ͥv̙͈͖̻̦͒̓͒̍̉̐e̙͙̫̭͓͑̇ṋ̢͔̠͆ ͖̈̊͟cͤ̒a̭̮̜͉͛̾̂́r̼̹̰̗̲̬̯͂̈́ͭ̽ͦe̜̞̥̳ ͋҉̤̤̲͙̫͔i̷̟̠ͥ̉͛̐̏̓f̙̄͗͞ ̘̜ͮ̽̃͞t̠̼͕͙͓͉̝͋̽͐͋ͤh͆ͪͭͬ͐ĭ̞͚̻̇ͅṣ͔̮̰̗̼̂ͧͩͅ ͎̝̜͙̤͛ͦͦk̴̖̻̮ͬ͆ͣ̎̌̓i̪͈̞̱̠̿ͤͣ̃l̍͊ͪ͑ͨ́ͥ͝l̮͙͉̮̼͂̂̓ͭ̀s̙͓̼͔̀ͧ̐̍̿̉ ͉̝̲͈̄͢m͐ͥę̪̻̆͐̓̄͆̓.̩͔̲͉̘̼ͫ ̙̤͖͈͙͓̝̆ͩ̉͊̓͆ͭ** ” 

You saw your opportunity, and you took it. You knew he could feel at least a margin of the pain you were feeling from this, and you relied on that to cloud his reaction time. While he was leaned down, you quickly wheeled your head back and smashed it as hard as you could against his own. Thankfully, he clearly hadn’t seen it coming, as it caused him to stumble backwards, dropping his tight hold of the threads and swearing. You fought through the pain to push yourself up just enough to throw your weight on top Error, pinning him to the ground beneath you.  
  
As soon as your body made contact, he shouted in a horribly pained, glitched manner, thrashing beneath you. You mentally thanked the powers that be that he was just bone, and though it was difficult to hold him down, it wasn’t impossible. 

 

“ **Ġ́ͥͥ̕͏̟̼̼̖͓Ȩ̴̛̼̱̥̫͈̖̖̹͔̫͚͍͎͖̽̊̎̇̊̍̂͊̿͂͗̌̽̏̉͞T͂̾̏ͥͬͧͦ̑͋ͬ͋҉̨̲̪̝̘͈͙̳̗̼́͘͠ ̐̔͊̿ͬ͒ͯ͊͐ͬ̌͑ͭ̃̐́̚҉҉̡̥͕̳̫̥̘͝Ǫ͖̥̦͎̬̮̙̜ͯͫ̔ͬͩͮ̅ͪ́̚F͗̂ͦ̇͐̔̍ͧ̈́̆ͩ̊ͭ̚̚͢F̵͓͚̺̠̗͚̗̩͍̼̯͖̟̩̯̱̬ͫ̆ͤͦ̄ͩͭ͆ͬ́̔̑ͧ̍̿͆̉̕͟͞ͅ ̧͕͎̥̭̼͕̻̗̣͖̩͉̬͒ͮͫͮͫ̋̎ͭͥ͒̆̕ͅ!̶͍̩̖͎̈́̾̂̉̏͌͒̂ͤͧͯ͛̑͐ͬ̋̒̓͠͞!̛̼͈͇̪͙̯̫̭̮̠̦̟̳͕̭͉͖ͤͯ̊͊͗̓ͯ̉ͬ̽͢͟!̴̢̲̰̜̪̰̯͙̥̥͙̣̰̻̭̣͙̎̌͗ͦ͋̌͛̂̀̋ͨ͐ͣ͒ͭ̔̂̄̚!̨͕͈̥̘̳͇̞̩̣̋́̉̇̐̃̓̄ͯ̅̑͋ͨ͝ͅ** ”

 

He was shouting the words violently, his voice cracking and glitching terribly and his eyes completely over-run with errors .  
  
“NO!! PLEASE, LISTEN!!” You tried to shout over the noise he was making, closing your eyes tight. It was scaring you to see him like this.  
  
You were shocked when he suddenly went still, and you heard a loud beeping noise. You opened your eyes and looked down at him; his face was completely blank. The error signs in his eyes had vanished, but his pupils hadn’t come back. He just laid there, completely lax like a rag doll.  
  
You rolled off of him, panicking. “Oh crap, oh crap!! Error, are you okay?!?” You shook him tentatively, and when he didn’t respond you panicked even more. You **knew** you shouldn’t have touched him for so long, he’d told you he hated it...  
  
Movement above him caught your eye, and when you looked up you were flabbergasted to see a loading bar hovering above him, displaying the word “REBOOTING.” It was filling, and you sat back, watching the little red bar slowly work its way full.  
  
What were you going to do when he woke up? He was probably going to be really angry at you, even more than he’d already been. But why? What had happened that made him so angry at you? There had to be something you could do or say to calm him, at least enough that you could try and get both sides of the story...  
  
The little bar had filled, and you hadn’t been able to think of anything. He sat up weakly, looking incredibly dazed and confused. Then, when he made eye contact with you, you could see the anger flash through his eyes again.  
  
“Wait, before you... before you kill me, just tell me, **how** did we get here?” You didn’t bother standing. If he was going to kill you, it wouldn’t matter.  
  
He furrowed his brow bones, scoffing. “l-̀l҉-l̷i̶kę́ ̨͝y̵o̴͘u̡͘͡ ̢͡d͜͜-̷̡do̴̧n̨̛’̸t̶ k͠nòw͜.̀͝” He somewhat slowly raised his twitching arm, almost like he was testing it. It looked like rebooting himself was causing a few minor issues. You took his temporary problems as an opportunity.  
  
“I really don’t. All I remember is we were on the bridge, and you started falling, but I... didn’t let go.” You finished. You’d known you couldn’t save him if you held on. So... why had you done it?  
  
He was staring at you now, still angry, but you could see a glimmer of something else. Confusion. “wh-̨wh͜y? ̷w͢h̴y d͏-d͏i͏dn̵’̸t̛ y͞ou͘.҉..?”  
  
“I...” You stared at your feet. Wow, this was gonna sound really stupid, but it was the only reason you had. “I didn’t **want** to.”  
  
There was silence, and then you could hear Error slowly standing, approaching you. This was where the finishing blow would come. You closed your eyes, waiting for it.  
  
“.͏..ţha̸t͠’s̨ rea̴l͏ly ͟st͝upìd,͟ ̢you͟ ̡know.” You looked up at him. He didn’t look happy, but he didn’t look angry anymore, either. “i ̶w̡as ͜g͜o͏nna͠ u͡se̛ ͝my ͘th͞reads͝ ̸t́o̸ ̷c͞a͡tch my̷se̢l͘f.”  
  
“Yeah, I, umm... I was realizing that just now.” Yep, stupid ideas. You were just full of them.  
  
Error exhaled heavily, and pulled you up a little roughly by your soul into a standing position before letting the threads vanish. “so ͝y͟o̸u̷ ͟r̢e͏ally.͝.̨.̵ ̕don’́t̵ know̧ ͟h̨ow͟ ̷w̶é ̴go̢t h͠ere?”  
  
“No.” You shook your head seriously. “The last thing I remember was falling, and then I woke up here.” You looked up at the ceiling; it was still intact. There was no way you could have fallen from above. “How...”  
  
He shook his head, looking around the room. “i don̷’t ͜kno͠w. one͜ ̀s̶e͡c̶o͟nd̶ we҉ ẁe̢r͠e͡ fa̷l͏ling ơff͢ ̡ţhat͡ bri̡d́g̛e͏, an͜d ̕th͞en ̵the̛ ͡n͡ȩxt ̶we we͏re on t͝h́e ͜f͞lo͏or̸ iǹ ̵h̶ere.”  
  
“We just... warped? And it wasn’t you?” You knew he could warp, but could he do it with two people?  
  
“ob̷vious̀ly̧ no̷t͜.” He spat, sounding a little angry again. “i̶ cán̨’̡ţ ̷m̵ove ̢botḩ ͝ơf̶ ͡u͢s͏ a̶t͟ ̕o̵nce.̕ tha͞t̀’̷s w͏hy̵ ̡i͡ ̧figu̧r̢e͏d͏..͢.̢” His anger died again and he went silent.  
  
You shook your head. “I’ve... this has never happened before. Maybe it’s whatever is making those creatures show up?” You offered. That was really the only answer you could think of.  
  
He didn’t say anything, and you stood there awkwardly for a moment. “Should we... should we keep going...?” You’d be lying to yourself if you said you were okay with anything that had just happened, but... this seemed like the sort of situation where you’d need to let it go.  
  
He was pensive for a bit, before nodding. “.͡..̛y̸ea͠h.”  
  
You gave him a sort of weak smile, not quite confident enough to feel like you could do anything else, and you moved onward.  
  
~  
  
As you navigated the lighted paths of the dark room, you couldn’t help but wonder where you stood now with Error. Just when you thought you’d gotten somewhere, **that** had to happen, and now... you really weren’t sure if all it was going to take was one more thing going wrong to make him kill you. He was following quietly behind, staring at the lighted path and following your footsteps carefully. A thought from earlier nagged at you, and knowing what the next room would be like, you felt you had to ask him.  
  
“Hey, Error...” You tested the conversational waters carefully.  
  
“h͠m͢?” He didn’t sound upset anymore, but he didn’t sound particularly chipper, either. It was good enough, you decided.  
  
“Can you, uh... can you see very well? I mean, because earlier I noticed you had trouble seeing the creature on the bridge, and then back in Snowdin you were practically using your threads to see everything, and so...” You trailed off, realizing your sentence had gone on far too long.  
  
“h͟aha, w͞e̴ll̨.̨.̵.͠” He sounded sort of embarrassed. “i can͡ sęe ͟ **ǫkáy͠**. it’s ͝ju̷şt ̷when̷ s͝t̡uf͝f ̕g͝ets,̡ a̴h,͘ ̕tóo̢ ́f̕a̷r͡ ̧aw͏a͟y.͞”  
  
Oh, so he was near-sighted. “How far away?”  
  
There was a silence, then he spoke again. “s̨ee͘ t̷h͝at,̴ t̷h̴eré?” You turned a little, and saw he was pointing at the little glow-mushroom cluster south-west of you.  
  
“Yeah.” You replied. It was back towards the center of the room, and the two of you were near the end of it.  
  
“i’̨d̵ ha͘ve͏ no̢ clu͢e wh̛at ̛th̡a͝t i̡s̕ from͟ hȩre̛. jus͞t loo͜ks҉ ̕li̴k̴ę a glo͝wińg ̢ba͞lļ.͝”  
  
“Really?” It wasn’t as bad as you initially thought, but not exactly what you’d call perfect vision.  
  
“yea̡h͡.” He shrugged. “ea̸rlier, ͞i̕t ̵wa̧s͟ ̛sorţ ̸o̶f a̧ co͏ḿb̶o͠ ͟w͠ith̡ ̡t̛h̡e̕ ̷da̸rkne̢ss͝.͏”  
  
“That’s...” You had been about to say ‘good to know’, but you quickly decided against it. He was already paranoid about your intentions; there was no need to rouse them. “... sort of unfortunate.” You finished, but then quickly added “The next room gets pretty dark.”  
  
“òh̶.͠ ̵theņ..͡.” He had raised his hand, but trailed off, looking between it and your chest. He’d been about to pull out the threads attached to your soul, you realized, but for some reason hesitated. Was it... because of what happened earlier?  
  
You had to admit, it still scared you a little, too, but... rebuilding someone’s trust in you required **you** to trust them too, didn’t it? You gave him a sort of nervous smile. “It’s okay. You can use them, if you want.”  
  
He stared at you, the two of you making a prolonged eye contact that made you feel a little squirmy inside, but then he looked down, his smile becoming casual. “u̡h..̴.̶ ̴y͞e̸a̛h̀.̶ t̴h͝at͝’d be͟.̡.͢. goo̸d͟.”  
  
Maybe there **was** a little hope that things between you weren’t so broken.  
  
~  
  
Thanks to his threads, the two of you got through the lantern room without any difficulty, and soon found yourselves wading through the ankle-deep water in the room filled with echo flowers.  
  
“Y’know, it’s kind of weird to think that strangers might be hearing any conversations we have here.” You commented, avoiding one of the rather large plants.  
  
“y̸eah?͘ w̶el͘l, ͞it͡’s ̨n͏ot͟ ͟like͘ w̕e’̀r͝e҉ ͞s͟a͜y̶in’ ͏a̕n̡y̛ţh̀ing ͟i͠mpo͝ŗtan̷t.͏” He replied. The constant whispering was starting to bug you a little, but he didn’t seem at all bothered.  
  
“Well, no, but still...” You frowned. “I feel sort of bad, what if someone was having a private conversation?”  
  
“then t̀hat’d be ͏pr͏ett͘y ͏dum̢b ̨o̷f̀ ͜th̕em.̴ if th͏e͝y̷ ͢l̸i͟v̷e̷ her̢e,͡ ̢t͝hey mu͞s̡t k͞n̨ow̨ ̢abóút͡ th̨es͡e th̢i̵ng͞s͜.͠” He sounded quite sure of himself, and you couldn’t help but laugh a little.  
  
“That’s true. Especially since there’s normally this guy at the entrance who pretty much **lives** to tell people about them.”  
  
He chuckled. “s͢ound̷s ͝l̀i̢k͡e̷ an exc̴it̶ing̷ ͜g̛u̡y͟.”  
  
“No, I mean he **seriously** lives to tell people. I literally heard him say it.” You’d checked that echo flower once, before talking to him, and had regretted it since.  
  
“...̕u͏h̨.͢..̶w̵ow.” Was all he had to say. He looked almost like he felt sorry for the guy.  
  
You did, too.  
  
Whoops.  
  
You really hoped the echo flower guy wouldn’t come down here and hear **that** particular conversation.  
  
~  
  
This was it.  
  
You were approaching the crag where Undyne would usually stand, but you hadn’t even heard from her yet; it had always been the wolf creature. And because this was normally where you would have your “final face-off” with Undyne...  
  
“This where she normally is.” You told Error, pausing and looking up at the top of the crag. You didn’t see anything there.  
  
“i ͡wo̶n̷d̡e͟r ͢i͞f̧ that͏ ̧g̵l͝itc͘h w͟i͟l̵ĺ sh͝o̡w up͞.͏” He sounded a little too eager.  
  
“I don’t-” A noise interrupted you, and you looked back up at the top of the crag.  
  
It was there. You could see its shadow looming over you and Error, its eyes glinting in the shadows. It was standing stock-still, almost as though observing you. And then, with a grace you hadn’t thought something so large could have, it leaped off the peak.  
  
You mentally braced yourself when it landed. Error was preparing for the worst, too, standing a short distance behind you.  
  
It hit the ground with a loud thud, its eyes glinting white in the darkness, before slowly walking forward. You could have sworn you’d heard that same beeping sound you’d heard before battling Toriel.  
  
Before you had a chance to react, the beast launched itself at you with lightning speed, its fangs bared.  
  
You heard the beast’s mouth hitting... something, and opened your eyes. To your shock, standing in front of you and blocking the beast was Undyne.  
  
“You nerd, what are you doing?!?” She was using her green spear, blocking its attack. It screeched with rage at the new development, but before it could attack again Undyne had launched her own assault of spears, causing the beast to stagger in pain, shaking itself violently. “Why are you even fighting this thing?!?!?!”  
  
“I-I don’t know!” You replied. Undyne was here, in front of you!! This creature **wasn’t** Undyne! You didn’t have to worry about killing her! You looked over at Error and nodded, signifying your consent to FIGHT. He looked incredibly happy, and before you could even blink he had dragged one of his error-filled Gaster Blasters out of nowhere and shot the beast, knocking it even further back.  
  
“Look, just leave, okay?! I can deal with this!!!!” Undyne shouted, slamming her spear into the ground for effect.  
  
“No!! We- I can help!” You knew there wasn’t much you could personally do, but if you left that meant Error would have to leave, too.  
  
“rggggh...” Undyne looked incredibly frustrated, staring you down, before finally caving and shouting. “NGAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! ALRIGHT YOU PUNK!!!! BUT YOU BETTER NOT DIE BEFORE I GET THE CHANCE TO KILL YOU MYSELF!!!!!!!!” And with that she launched herself at the beast, spears raised.  
  
Honestly, it was one of the most uplifting and frankly, cool, things you’d seen in a while; Undyne was incredibly fast on the offensive, dodging the beast’s swipes and bites and driving her spears into it at every opportunity, causing more and more data to leak from its wounds. On top of that, every time it tried to switch up targets or catch Undyne off guard, it was met with another blast from Error’s Gaster Blaster, causing it to reel.  
  
But no matter how much damage they did to it, it wouldn’t go down. It faltered. It bled data. Then it got back up and shook itself as though nothing had happened. You couldn’t understand it, and neither could Undyne or Error.  
  
“GAH!!! WHY. DON’T. YOU. DIE?!?!?” Undyne shouted, emphasizing each word with a jab from her spear.  
  
“h̶ey͝,̶ ̶f̕/͟n, ͢t̵h̸ere̕’s some̶t̶h̢in̷g ̸d̛i͜ff̴er͠en̨t ͜a̴bou̷t͝ ̨t̡hi̵s ͞one.͜” Error called to you, dodging out of the way of one the beast’s paws.  
  
“What?” Different... well, it didn’t look like Undyne, and clearly it wasn’t holding her prisoner. That was different.  
  
“it̴s.͝..” He fired his Gaster Blaster again, this time just as it reared up, knocking in backwards onto its side. If Undyne thought the invisible force knocking it over was strange, she didn’t say anything, using the opportunity to strike it. “.̸.͠.̨da̢t͠a.̵” He finished.  
  
“Its data...” You stared at it, at the data pouring from it. It was green data. What did that mean?  
  
Error had maneuvered himself nearby you. “i̕t’s ͏t́ḩe̡ same̛ ͟as̨ hers.̛”  
  
The same as hers. You froze. The beast wasn’t dying... “...because... **she** isn’t dying?” You finished your thought aloud, in disbelief. “She has to die.”  
  
_Why_.  
  
What were you supposed to say to her? ‘Sorry, we have to kill you now, Undyne!’. You couldn’t just leave her here to fight this thing for eternity. You stared at her, fighting so valiantly, so bravely. This thing was giant, yet she showed no fear. You wished you could be like that.  
  
“NGAAAAAH!!!!” She suddenly struck an intensely heavy blow, knocking the beast very far back. It seemed stunned by the sudden force, pawing the ground in a disoriented manner. Suddenly, Undyne turned to you, a serious look on her face. “Hey, nerd. I have a question.” She called out.  
  
“Y-yeah...?”  
  
(✮)  
  
“... I don’t know who your pal is, there, but... if what he’s saying is true...” She clenched her spears tightly, and then drove them into the ground. “ **Then I’m not gonna go as a wimp!!!!** ”  
  
“U-Undyne, please...!” She couldn’t be implying what you thought she was. Error was giving her an unreadable look.  
  
“If they ask... if... if Alphys asks... **you’ll tell her, right**?” The question wasn’t directed at you, but Error. He nodded mutely, and she smiled to herself. “Alright then. Hey, you wimps better not mess this up, got it???” She took a deep breath, then pounded her armor with her fists and grabbed her spears. “ **YOU’RE GOING DOWN, YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A DOG!!!!** ”  
  
She ran straight at the monster. You ran after her, desperately yelling for her to stop, only to be caught halfway by the threads around your soul, pulling you backwards.  
  
Though you could only see it in the shadows, you heard her shout, and launch a particularly vicious attack. The monster let out a horrible screech when her spear drove into it, and snapped down, using the jammed spear as an opportunity to destroy her. As she crumbled away to dust, a loud wave of static echoed throughout the cave.  
  
CLANK.  
  
CLANK.  
  
CLANK.  
  
You stared in muted terror as the monster walked out of the shadows, this time looking completely different. It was covered in some sort of metal now, metal that looked eerily similar to the armor that Undyne had been wearing. It now only had one glowing eye, and its tail was no longer normal, instead having become nothing but spears jutting out. Embedded in its chest was Undyne’s spear.  
  
Its head twitched to the side and it reared back, letting out a long, high-pitched screeching howl before suddenly rushing forward at you, its jaws snapping. You moved backwards towards Error with an amateurish ease, and he in turn moved to the left, trying to anticipate the beast’s moves. Its tail flared out, and a flurry of green spears came out, targeting your position.  
  
Green, she normally gave you a shield for these! You panicked, holding your arms in front of you like you had when you were battling Undyne normally, only to be harshly jerked out of the way of the spears.  
  
“wh̶at d̢ó ̢you ̷t̢hi̸n͠k ̶yo͡u’̨ŕe ͜doing̀, ̨idìòt҉?!?͡” Error shouted at you, deftly avoiding a spear himself.  
  
“This is-“ You couldn’t think of a good way to put it as you jumped out of the way of the beast’s charge. “Look, please trust me, okay?”  
  
He looked incredibly hesitant to ‘just trust you’, but as the next flurry of spears came, he stopped himself from pulling you away, his hands twitching nervously.  
  
You braced your arms in front of you and closed your eyes tight. This **had** to work. This **always** worked. You were determined.  
  
You heard the sound of the spears hitting something, and when you opened your eyes you saw that your theory had worked; the spears dissipated on the green shield. The beast let out an angered howl and launched itself at you, hell-bent on killing you. Error fired at it with his blaster, and it immediately veered out of the way of the shot, instead opting to fire spears at him. As fast as you could you dodged in front of him, holding the shield out again, but falling backwards when it struck at the small green barrier with a paw.  
  
Error had moved around to the other side of it now, and you gave him a look, silently communicating a plan. You **really** hoped he understood, and you sat on the ground, clutching your arm in pain. The beast approached you, clanking menacingly, and slowly opened its jaws, preparing to eat you.  
  
You took advantage of the close proximity and dove forward, grasping Undyne’s spear in its chest. The creatures was taken by surprise at the action, and you used the momentum of its slight stagger and your own forward movement to drive the spear further in, as hard as you could. The creature screeched, faltering backwards, and as it opened its jaws to bite you, you heard a voice.  
  
“hey,̕ ̧gl̡i͝tc̕h.”  
  
Error called out, and it paused, turning its head to look at him.  
  
It was surrounded by Error Blasters, all holding charges in their mouths. Error smiled in a way that sent chills down your spine, and his eyes had become filled with ‘error’s.  
  
“d̡͈̖͍̟̺͌̃ͯ͢i̻̯̖̩̣̓ͮ̂͗̌̔̅͢e̢̼̬̱̣̟͓̫͓̖ͦ́̉̐̕.̨̻̭̣͍̭͈̭̭̫̄̋̚͢͞ ♥”  
  
You jumped backwards, and covered your eyes when the light from all the blasts being fired became blinding, and the horrible metallic screech of the creature filled the air. Then, there was silence.  
  
You slowly opened your eyes, watching limply as the creature stared searchingly at you with hauntingly familiar eyes before falling to the ground, vanishing into a haze of static.  
  
Another friend. You’d lost another friend. But... you wouldn’t fall to pieces. You couldn’t, not after what Undyne did. She had sacrificed herself for everyone, for **you**. You had to press on, for her sake.  
  
(✮)  
  
You hadn’t realized how long you’d been standing silently, staring at the spear that had been left behind, until Error waved a hand in front of you.  
  
“you̢ ̧sti͏ll͟ ͢ẃi̵th me?͡” He asked, concerned.  
  
“...yeah. Yeah.” You nodded after a moment, mustering up a weak smile.  
  
_I’m sorry._  
  
“ Let’s... keep going.” You walked past him, picking up the spear and clutching it tightly.  
  
There was nothing the two of you could do but keep going.  
 


	10. DATA RESTORATION: 70%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> Just as a quick note, I'd like to say thank you so much for just over 200 kudos!  
> It really does mean a lot to me, and I'm so glad that you're all enjoying this story!  
> Sorry for wasting your time with that, please enjoy!

**DATA RESTORATION: 70%**

“Ugh, I always forget how hot it gets here...” You commented as you and Error entered Hotland. You grabbed a cup of water and downed it before continuing on.  
  
“it do̕esn̴’t̷ ̀s̕e̵e͜m̵ ̷s̸o b͠ad̀.” Error was peering over the edge of the stone platform at the lava below.  
  
“Really? You don’t feel it?” You were already feeling a little sweaty.  
  
“no̴pe͢.̀” That made sense, you guessed. He wasn’t exactly all there, after all.  
  
Your first train of thought had been to completely avoid Alphys; you really didn’t want to have to tell her what happened to Undyne, and it wasn’t like she would even remember once you’d reset anyways.  
  
But as you turned to walk the usual path to the Left 1 elevator, you noticed there **wasn’t** a path anymore. You couldn’t even see the elevator. You sighed aloud, turning back to face the white, rectangular building. You didn’t have a choice.  
  
“So...” You began a little nervously, glancing at Error as you walked up to the door, clutching Undyne’s spear tightly. “How should we...?”  
  
“we wo̧n͡’̕t.” He replied as though it were the most obvious answer in the world.  
  
“We’re gonna lie to her?” You talked softly, not wanting to risk her being on the other side of the door.  
  
“d̕o͢ ̨y̡ǫu hav̡e ͜a͢ bet̨te̡r͝ plán?” He retorted calmly. You honestly didn’t, but...  
  
“But Undyne asked us...” You’d feel bad not fulfilling the request she’d made of you.  
  
“no, ͝s̴h̴e ͡a͞s͞ke̵d ̛ **m̡e**.͏” You faltered; she had only asked Error. “so̧ ̛if̡ ͞i͡ ̷li͘e, ho͟w͞’s̢ tha̕t͜ ̴y̡o̶u̵r͞ p̕r͘ob̛le̢m̛?͟”  
  
“Error...” You could see what he was doing. He was taking the blame, the burden, for you. It wasn’t your problem anymore. You wanted to thank him, but another part of you still felt badly. After all, was it really better to know he wouldn’t tell her and not do anything about it?  
  
“l̷e͘t’s̛ go̸.” He took the initiative, walking up to the white door. It hissed as it opened automatically, and you had to chase after him as he casually waltzed into the lab like he owned the place.  
  
~  
  
The first thing you noticed is that it wasn’t as dark as it usually was when you first got into the lab. Everything was well-lit, and the large monitor that usually tracked your entire adventure was off. Was Alphys prepared to see you?  
  
You heard a soft shuffling noise, and the door at the far end opened. But what had shuffled out wasn’t quite Alphys; it **did** have all her distinguishable features, but it bore more a resemblance to the amalgamates she hid in her basement. Instead of any discernible legs, there was just a mass of white goop, and bits and pieces of her had traded positions; however, her face had remained in the same spot, and still looked more or less the same.  
  
Error had reacted quickly, readying his threads. You weren’t too sure how to react, but when she looked up and noticed you and her face flushed with embarrassment, you grabbed the threads that weren’t attached to your soul and pulled down on them softly. Glancing at you, Error lowered his hands, but still looked leery.  
  
“Oh. My god. I didn’t expect you to show up so soon! I haven’t showered, I’m barely dressed, it’s all messy and... ummm...” The Alphys amalgamate shuffled forward nervously, acting as though nothing had changed about her. “H-h-hiya! I’m Dr. Alphys. I’m Asgore’s royal scientist!” She shifted, sweating a little. “B-b-but, ahhhh, I’m not one of the ‘bad guys’! Actually, since you’ve stepped out of the Ruins, I’ve, um...”  
  
She never finished the sentence, and you smiled nervously at her. “Oh, ahaha, you’ve been watching us?” Did she already know about Undyne? She certainly didn’t look too distraught if she did. As a matter of fact, if she noticed the spear you were holding, she hadn’t mentioned anything about it either.  
  
“Um, yeah! I’ve been watching you! Your fights... your friendships... everything!” She smiled, looking a little less bashful.  
  
“Oh, just... me?” Could she not see Error, either?  
  
“W-well, no, I saw your friend, too, but... ” She squinted at you, looking around. “...He isn’t here with you.”  
  
“Oh... oh!” She couldn’t see him in person, just on her monitor. “Ahaha, yeah...” You awkwardly finished. Error seemed disturbed by the idea that Alphys was watching the two of you, and was giving you a kind of scary look. Honestly, Alphys’ cameras had slipped your mind.  
  
“...” She stared at you for a second, before continuing. “Well! Anyways! There’s actually, umm, a tiny issue. A long time ago, I made a robot named Mettaton...”  
  
“Oh, Mettaton! The TV star.” You answered before she had a chance to explain. Her eyes widened in surprise.  
  
“Y-yes!! He’s very famous; of course you would know him! But um, you see, recently I decided to make him more useful. You know, just some small, practical adjustments. Like, umm...” One of her ‘feet’ shifted across the floor in what you imagined was meant to be a nervous motion. “Anti... anti-human combat features?”  
  
Error’s eyes narrowed at Alphys, but she quickly continued on, unaware of the deadly gaze. “Of c-course, when I saw you coming, I immediately decided... I have to remove those features!”  
  
He relaxed a little, and you tensed, shifting over so you stood partially between him and Alphys in a suspicious manner. She continued. “Unfortunately, I may have made a teensy mistake while doing so. And, um...” She hesitated, but then quickly blurted out her next statement. “Now he’s an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood? Ehehehehehe...heh.”  
  
You were glad you’d switched positions. Error suddenly looked like he was going to murder Alphys, but since you were standing in the way you were able to wheel around quickly and hold both your hands up in a ‘stop’ motion. He glared at you, and you steeled yourself, giving him the best reprimanding gaze you could; Poor Alphys just stood there, watching you have a staring match with nothing. After a moment, Error huffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking incredibly unhappy, and you sighed and turned back to the scientist.  
  
Seeing the confused look on her face and realizing what you’d just done, you laughed nervously.  
  
Then an awkward silence followed.  
  
“Ahem. But, ummm, hopefully we won’t run into him! Mettaton.” She finished, smile sheepishly and avoiding your gaze.  
  
You heard a quiet crashing sound, and Error heard it too, looking up at the wall curiously.  
  
Alphys stared at you, smiling awkwardly. “Did you hear something?”  
  
The crashing became incredibly loud, and you backed away from the wall.  
  
“Oh no.” Alphys sounded sort of bland, like she knew it was going to happen. Well, she did, but she didn’t know you were aware of that. You chalked it up to poor acting. Mettaton would probably berate her later.  
  
“OHHHH YES!”  
  
The wall blew open, small chunks flying everywhere. Though none of them had hit anyone, Error backed up and had summoned his threads again, ready to fight. You quickly turned to defuse the situation. “No, no! It’s okay, he’s just gonna do a-“  
  
“WELCOME, BEAUTIES... TO TODAY’S QUIZ SHOW!!”  
  
Stage lighting came on inside Alphys’ lab, bathing everything in various shades of the rainbow and flashing around in a slightly disorienting manner. Cameras had popped out from seemingly nowhere, filming the action live.  
  
“OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT’S GONNA BE A GREAT SHOW! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANTS!” Two spotlights had shone down, one on you and the other on Error.  
  
You could see the unimpressed expression on Error’s face, and you were about to adopt a repentant look when a gratuitous shower of confetti poured down from the ceiling onto the two of you. You couldn’t stop the laughter that brimmed up when the look on his face changed to something like a miserable cat being bathed.  
  
“r̛ea̷lly͠?” Was all he said, glaring at Mettaton while he shook stray confetti out of his clothes. You’d opted to do the same, shaking the itchy little bits of paper off yourself.  
  
“WHAT, NEVER PLAYED BEFORE, GORGEOUS?” Error hackled a little at the robot’s casual flirting. “NO PROBLEM! IT’S SIMPLE! THERE’S ONLY ONE RULE. ANSWER CORRECTLY...” Mettaton’s screen turned red, and he motioned as though he were an evil genius laughing. “OR YOU DIE!!!”  
  
The quiz show had begun; Error still looking like he very much wanted to kill Mettaton, Alphys staring at the camera output screen and at Error in wonder, and yourself examining Mettaton. He looked a little... different, but it was hard to place exactly why.  
  
“LET’S START WITH AN EASY ONE!!” The spotlights had all congregated over you, picking you out as the contestant to answer the question. “WHAT’S THE PRIZE FOR ANSWERING CORRECTLY?” The question also appeared on a screen that had presented itself behind him.  
  
“Oh! I know!!” You felt excited; being under a spotlight made you a little giddy. “It’s more questions, right??”  
  
“RIGHT! SOUNDS LIKE YOU GET IT! HERE’S YOUR TERRIFIC PRIZE!” He pulled out another question card dramatically. This time, the spotlights switched to Error. He looked a little lost at the event. “WHAT’S THE KING’S FULL NAME?”  
  
“u͏h̶...” He squinted his eyes, looking at nothing in particular. “cr̨a͞p, ̢i̧ knǫw̢ ̵this.̕..̧”  
  
“(i-it’s Asgore Dreemurr...)” Alphys whispered conspiratorially, leaned closer to Error as secretively as she could be.  
  
“ąs̸gor̡e dr̀ee͜m̛ur̸r?” He had directed it at Alphys, but Mettaton had taken it as an answer.  
  
“CORRECT! WHAT A TERRIFIC ANSWER!” He applauded, though it came across as a little sarcastic. “ENOUGH ABOUT YOU, LET’S TALK ABOUT ME!” It was your turn again. “WHAT ARE ROBOTS MADE OF?”  
  
That one was easy; you remembered it from your last playthrough. “Metal and magic!” You claimed confidently.  
  
“TOO EASY FOR YOU, HUH???????????????” He turned to Error, the spotlights shining down on him again. “HERE’S ANOTHER EASY ONE FOR YOU!” This time, he only gestured to the screen behind him, a practical wall of text being brought up on it; the infamous ‘Trains’ math question. Error squinted at the squished, white text, and you suddenly recalled he couldn’t see too well.  
  
“A-Alphys!!” You quietly called to the scientist. “Error can’t see that far!!” You hissed to her, waving your hands a little for emphasis. There was no way he’d be able to answer on time.  
  
Sure enough, the timer had run down. “OH, I’M SORRY, NOT ANSWERING IS-“  
  
“W-WAIT!!” Alphys cried out, moving forward. “TH-THATS!! NOT FAIR!!!”  
  
“WHATEVER DO YOU MEAN, ALPHYS, DARLING?” Mettaton sounded patient, but you knew better.  
  
“W-WELL!! WELL!!!” She hesitated now that all the cameras were on her. “He, umm... he can’t read it! So!”  
  
“ha̕ng͘ ơn.͡.̧.͝” Error was digging around in his jacket, and came out holding a pair of round, red glasses in his hand.  
  
“Oh!” You watched as he somewhat hesitantly put them on, and then looked back up at the screen.  
  
Good grief, he looked adorable.  
  
After a brief moment, he spoke. “3͘2̶.0͝58 ̛m̸in͘utes.͠”  
  
Adorable AND smart.  
  
“WONDERFUL! IM ASTOUNDED, FOLKS! BUT DON’T ‘COUNT’ ON YOUR VICTORY...” You stifled a snort at the pun, and Error looked pleased. The spotlights hadn’t moved, signifying it was still Error’s turn. “HOW MANY FLIES ARE IN THIS JAR?” An electronic jar appeared on the screen behind him.  
  
“p͡f̛f̵.͢ ̛f͡if̢t̕y-f̶o̴u̴r.́” He answered without hesitation. How was he so good with numbers? You stared at him in admiration, and when he noticed his face colored a little and he looked away, taking his glasses off and sliding them into his jacket.  
  
If Mettaton thought anything of Error’s skills, he didn’t show it, instead continuing on. “CORRECT! YOU'RE SO LUCKY TODAY!” The spotlights moved to you. “LET’S PLAY A MEMORY GAME. WHAT MONSTER IS THIS?” For all accounts and purposes, the monster on the screen looked like a Froggit. But you knew better.  
  
“It’s Mettaton.” You nodded your head. Error looked at you like you were insane, but when the image zoomed out it was indeed, Mettaton.  
  
“I'M SO FLATTERED YOU REMEMBERED! BUT CAN YOU GET THIS ONE???” It was Error’s turn again, and he looked smug. He’d been right so far. “IT’S MULTIPLE CHOICE! WOULD YOU... SMOOCH A GHOST?”  
  
Every answer on the screen read ‘HECK YEAH’, and the timer had begun counting upwards, giving him more time to answer it.  
  
He stared at the screen.  
  
He looked over at you.  
  
He stared back at the screen.  
  
“w̢h̷a͜t.” He furrowed his brow bones. “all̶ ̶the ̀a͟n̶s͟wers ̧a̵r̴e͢ t́he ̛sa͏me̷.͟”  
  
“Well, you can’t get it wrong?” You were trying not to laugh.  
  
“i̢ ͢d̀o̶n̵’t **w͠a͟n̶t** t̴o kiss̛ a͞ ͏g͢host,͠ th̵o̷u͏gh̸!͟” He had turned to you, trying to reason with you.  
  
“I mean...” You trailed off, gesturing to the answers. “You’ve gotta say something. We could be here forever!”  
  
“...b̷u̡t͟...” He looked again between you and the screen, like if he looked away the answers would change. Nope. Mettaton was waiting patiently for the answer. “ug͏h..̴.͢.”  
  
You chuckled quietly, hoping Error wouldn’t hear it. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think any ghosts are watching.”  
  
“įt’͘s ͜real̕l͠y ̀n̷ot.͡” He heaved a long-suffering sigh, and then answered. “b,̸ i̷ ģu͜e̛s͢s.̷”  
  
“GREAT ANSWER! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!” To his credit, Mettaton **did** sound incredibly enthused. “HERE’S A SIMPLE ONE.” It was your turn again, and the question popped up on the screen behind Mettaton. ‘How many letters in the name Mettatonnnnnnnnn-‘ and it kept going. And going. The timer was running down, and you panicked.  
  
Then, suddenly, the “n’s” stopped. And then there were no “n’s” at all on the screen, just the word “Mettato”.  
  
You heard Error speak softly from nearby you. “w̡h̶o̷͜op̶̧͜s͝.̵͞” You could practically hear the shit-eating grin he must have had.  
  
“Seven!” You quickly answered. Suffice it to say, Mettaton did NOT look too pleased at Error’s assist, but being the great host he was, he continued on.  
  
“OF COURSE THAT WAS EASY FOR YOU! TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS!! IN THE DATING SIMULATION...” He continued, and you recognized you didn’t need to answer this particular question; Alphys always got too excited and answered for you.  
  
You quickly turned to Error, giving him a warm smile. “Thanks. I don’t think I would’ve gotten that one.”  
  
“h͏e͏h͟, ̀n͏o ̸pro͞b͘l͏èm̴..̛.̸” He actually gave you a sort of shy smile back. It was a... nice moment.  
  
Alphys had just trailed off after her rant, and Mettaton had turned to her. “ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS. YOU AREN’T HELPING OUR CONTESTANTS, ARE YOU?” Actually, she hadn’t been helping as much as usual, but you guessed that was because Error was with you this time. “OOOOOOOOH!!! YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME. I’LL ASK A QUESTION... YOU’LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO!” The spotlight shone on all three of you now. “WHO DOES DR. ALPHYS HAVE A CRUSH ON?”  
  
This question always confused you. No matter what you answered, Mettaton always said it was correct, although the right answer was obviously Undyne. Error looked lost, and Alphys was embarrassed, covering her face.  
  
**(if Alphys asks, you’ll tell her?)**  
  
“Undyne...” You spoke, staring down at your spear sadly. It would be fine. _You would reset, and they could all be together again._  
  
“SEE, ALPHYS? I TOLD YOU IT WAS OBVIOUS. EVEN THE HUMAN FIGURED IT OUT.” He shrugged his shoulders and shook his body side to side, as though it were his head. Which, you guessed it kinda was. “YES, SHE SCRAWLS HER NAME IN THE MARGINS OF HER NOTES. SHE NAMES PROGRAMMING VARIABLES AFTER HER. SHE EVEN WRITES STORIES OF THEM TOGETHER... SHARING A DOMESTIC LIFE. PROBABILITY OF CRUSH: 101 PERCENT. MARGIN OF ERROR. ONE PERCENT.” Alphys looked thoroughly embarrassed.  
  
The stage lights vanished, and the normal lights came back on. “WELL WELL WELL. WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU... THE SHOW HAS NO DRAMATIC TENSION! WE CAN’T GO ON LIKE THIS!!” He placed a hand to where his forehead would probably be. “BUT. BUT!!! THIS WAS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE!! NEXT UP, MORE DRAMA!” He struck a dramatic pose. “MORE ROMANCE!!!” He gestured to you and Error, causing you to tilt your head in confusion and Error to have a minor panic attack. “MORE BLOODSHED!!! UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS...!!!” And with that, he backed out the hole he had come from and vanished.  
  
There was a silence between the three of you, and then Alphys spoke. “Well that was certainly something.”  
  
“Ahaha, yeah. He seems like a fun guy when he’s not trying to, y’know, kill you.” You pointed out pleasantly, leaning your spear in the crook of your arm and shaking out your hands. You hadn’t realized you’d been clutching the spear pretty hard the entire time.  
  
“Yeah, he’s ah, pretty cool.” Alphys laughed sheepishly, looking away. “So, um! Your friend **is** with you!”  
  
“Oh, yeah.” You smiled over at Error, who had been glaring at the hole in the wall. “I guess you can only see him in cameras.”  
  
“OH! I!!! READ A MANGA LIKE THAT ONCE!” She announced, sounding excited. “The main character had this friend that was a ghost, but nobody could see them, and so they did all kinds of nice things and chased away anyone who was being mean to the main character! And then they started dating...and...” She suddenly looked embarrassed at the outburst.  
  
You frowned a little to yourself, and then spoke. “... I meant to ask, what’s ‘dating’?” You’d gone on a ‘date’ with Papyrus before, but... you’d never really understood the actual concept of it. Clearly it wasn’t something ‘friends’ did.  
  
There was a stunned silence in the room, and you felt a little awkward. Was it really a dumb question?  
  
“Oh. My God. What’s dating?” Alphys sounded like she couldn’t believe you didn’t know. “It’s when you’re with someone pretty much all the time, and you hold hands, and hug, and kiss, and...” She continued on, almost going into another world.  
  
“Hmm...” You furrowed your brows, folding your arms in thought. You were with Error pretty much all the time. You held hands with him once, and... well, you’d **tried** to hug him. Did that count? You looked up at Error and Alphys. “Am I ‘dating’ Error, then?”  
  
You thought it was a normal question. The reaction it had brooked told you otherwise; Alphys got a strange look on her face, and Error made a noise like he was choking, his face going bright blue and his body glitching out.  
  
“You and Error...? Oh my god, I totally ship it!!!” She practically squealed, laughing happily to herself. “I mean, you’re so precious, and he’s so cool, the fanfiction practically writes itself!!”  
  
“no͜͠ ͟it̴ ̸̶̛d͝o̷͏e̢s͏̶̧ņ’͢͏t!͏!̢!͘!͘͞͝” Error wheeled on an Alphys who obviously couldn’t hear or see him without the help of a camera; He was angry, panicked, and still blushing  
  
“ ‘Ship’ it...?” Another term you didn’t really understand. You’d heard her say it before, but never asked. “Wait, so we **aren’t** dating?” You turned to Error. This conversation was getting confusing.  
  
“n̨̢o!̀̀͜!͘̕!͏͡ ̸̨n̸͝ǫ͢͟bo̢dy̧̛͢ ̢͞͝e͘͟͝v̷͝e̴̵r̀ ͘͟͝s͠͏aí̸̡d̸̵̀ ̀͟any̢͏t̵h̸i͞n̛͡g̶͠ ̷͟a̶̡͢b̕o̴̷͘u̵͞t̸̸ d͜a̴͜t͜ì̷n͠͞g͜!̸͢!!̨” Error answered, seeming a little less angry and more frazzled. The blue tint hadn’t left his cheeks, and he couldn’t seem to make eye contact with you.  
  
“Oh no... d-did I make things awkward...?” Alphys seemed nervous now, but still oddly happy with herself.  
  
“No, really, it’s okay!” You reassured her.  
  
“n̛o i̶t̴’s̢ n͞ǫt..͡.̡” Error had resignedly added.  
  
“We aren’t dating, though.” You nodded to yourself. If Error said you weren’t, then you guessed you weren’t.  
  
There was a bit of a silence, and then Error spoke up. “so̵ can͢ ͜we leąv̵è ̧now̶, ̶or ̀what͠?̴”  
  
“Right! We’ll be heading out, Dr. Alphys!” You smiled at her, heading past her to the exit door.  
  
“Wait, wait!” She rushed to catch up to both of you. “W-would it be alright if... If I kept an eye out f-f-for you guys on the cameras? Th-then... m-maybe... if you needed help, I could... give it to you?” The dialogue was different; it was probably because you had never gotten the cell phone from Toriel.  
  
“n͠o.” Error sounded miserable, knowing you were going to answer differently regardless of what he said.  
  
“Of course not! That would be really helpful, Dr. Alphys!” You smiled cheerfully at her, and she blushed nervously, fumbling.  
  
“G-great!!! So!!! Um!” Silence. She looked around awkwardly. “I’ll be, uh... around?” And she ran off to the door she had come from. It closed behind her, but you could still see her feet sticking from the crack of the door, tapping nervously.  
  
You laughed softly so she couldn’t hear it. “She’s a nice lady.”  
  
“su̡r͘e͝.” He said with a certain level of defeat, and you laughed a bit louder, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him out the exit.  
  
~  
  
The first thing you noticed upon stepping out of the lab was that the lava surrounding Hotland was different. The usual bubbling liquid had been replaced with a sea of orange and yellow zeroes and ones. It was making a soft hissing noise that filled you with unease, and you tore your eyes away from it, looking anywhere else.  
  
“.͡..̷c͞’̶mon,͠ ́we̡’ré ̧a̶lmo̶s͏t ͢t͜h̀e͘rȩ,͏ r̛ight?” Error reassured, moving into your line of vision.  
  
You swallowed thickly and smiled. “Yeah...” You continued forward to the pipe-laden path, stepping carefully onto them. “Be careful! I’ve never really fallen here, but... why take the risk, right?” You gave Error a weak smile and crossed the pipes.  
  
“s͠’ņot ̀l̸ike ̀i’͢d l͟e̶t ͠yo͘u͝ fall͡, ̴a̸nyw͟ay̧s̨.”  
  
You stumbled a little, surprised at the reaction your heart had. Why were you feeling so weird around Error all of a sudden? Before, you’d never reacted so badly to statements like that, and now... they gave you a strange, squirmy sensation inside. Error had noticed you’d stopped, pausing behind you.  
  
“wha̴t? ̛d̨id̨ yo͡u s̛e̷ę s̛ome͝t̀hi̴ng̕?̛”  
  
“N-no! It’s nothing, really!” You nervously covered, trekking on.  
  
Why were you nervous?  
  
~  
  
The steam jumps had always been a little scary, but at the same time exhilarating. You knew you’d always land safely on the other side, but it still had that sense of danger about it. “So!” You announced, pausing in front of the first arrow and turning to face Error. “We have to stand on these and jump across the pits!”  
  
“wh̸y?͘” It was a simple enough question.  
  
“Well, because otherwise we can’t get across.” You nodded firmly. It wasn’t like you could...  
  
Error had smiled, and one second he was there; the next, he had vanished. When the realization of what just happened finally hit you, you turned to look at the other platform with a sour face. He had just teleported himself.  
  
“Well, because otherwise **some** of us can’t get across.” You corrected yourself, and he laughed. He extended his hand, making the threads on your soul glow, but you quickly shook your head. “No, no! I want to go across **my** way!”  
  
He lowered his hand and shrugged a little. “suit͏ y͜o̴u͠r͏sȩlf҉.͞ t͡r͞y̴ not ̛t͡o d̢ie̡~!” He sounded like he didn’t care, but the glowing threads he still held in his hand betrayed his real feelings; he would be ready to catch you. The thought warmed your heart, and it did that funny thing again.  
  
You ignored it, instead focusing on the more important task. You took a running start, and when you hit the arrow you leaped across the gap, landing breathlessly on the other platform and accidentally dropping your spear on it. You took a second to steady yourself, and then laughed joyfully, scooping the weapon back up. “That’s always so fun!!”  
  
He chuckled, too. “y̶o͡u ̢hav̛è ҉f͢un͟ a͜lmos̸t d̶yin̵g?̵ ̨no ̀w͡o̢nd͞ér ́y͏ou͠ ̴d͜òn̶’t ̶m͝in͠d hańgi͜ǹg̢ ͏ou̴t́ wi̶t̀h̴ me.”  
  
You shook yourself off and hurried to the next arrow. “Hey, I don’t mind hanging out with you because I actually really like you.” You froze up. The words had just fallen out of your mouth in an adrenaline-fueled haze, and you didn’t know why saying them made your chest tighten up in panic.  
  
“u͏h̷.̸.̷.”  
  
There was a short and uncomfortable silence, before you quickly spoke again. “S-So, we just have to cross these and do a couple puzzles, and then we should be able to reach the other elevator! Oh, but there are also these lasers too, and uh... I’m just gonna jump now, okay?” You ran at the arrow and leaped over the gap, landing on the other side. Error had followed silently, teleporting after.  
  
Why did you have to open your big mouth? You jumped across the last gap, stumbling a little but regaining your footing quickly. Now the whole trip would be-  
  
“i.̡..̵̕ i̧ l̕į̡͠k̕͢e̛ ̶y̧̛o̶̧̨u̴̕ tơo̧̢͟,͞͠ y͟’kń̵̡o̡͡w̶͞͡.̸͘”  
  
Your heart felt like it was going to explode, and you didn’t dare look at him. Instead you clutched your spear, a big smile on your face.  
  
He liked you, too. You weren’t really sure what this meant, but you really liked the sound of it.  
  
~  
  
The next room had the laser machines in it, as you had predicted.  
  
“So, these lasers are all color-coded for-“  
  
You’d been about to explain the patterns of movement to Error for each laser set, but instead he’d opted to simply summon an Error Blaster and destroy all the machines in one fell swoop, leaving the path completely laser-free.  
  
“so̸rr̕y͘, ̶ýou ẃe̷ŕe͠ sa͞yi̛ng?̸” He was grinning at you, smug.  
  
“...for no apparent reason, because we aren’t going to bother with them.” You finished sort of lamely, but laughed anyways. You had to admit, Error’s way of doing things was useful.  
  
~  
  
The puzzle rooms.  
  
You’d never been a real master of the block puzzles. Sure, you’d get them right eventually, but it always took you a bit of messing around before you’d get them right. Error had let you do the first puzzle, watching in curiosity and then eventually boredom until you’d gotten it. The second one, however, he decided to complete himself.  
  
You watched as he skillfully lined the blocks, feeling sort of jealous and amazed. “Geez, you’re really smart, huh?”  
  
“o̧uc̨h.͡” He chuckled, fiddling with the machine.  
  
“Oh!!” You’d just insulted him. “Not to say I didn’t think you were smart, but... I didn’t know you were **really** smart. I mean, especially during the quiz show...” You trailed off, remembering his amazing math skills.  
  
He chuckled a little, lining up the second shot perfectly. “we̸ll͏,̢ ̡w͟h̷en i ͞r͜emem͡ber, ̧i̵’m̀ ͟n͜ot̶ t͏o̢o sh͡abb͞y̴.”  
  
“You forget those sorts of things, too?” You stopped watching the puzzle, and started watching him. He was so strange, so different... So new. Something you hadn’t ever encountered before, and... you liked it.  
  
“mm͜,͞ ͡s̷om̨etimes.̷” He finished the puzzle, and you could hear a little pinging noise, marking that the door was now open. “i̴ ̧me͏an,̛ it u̴suall͝y ̶c͘ome͢s ̧b͞a̶ck ̷p̵rett͞y̛ ͘q͡uíc͡k͡.̧”  
  
“Well, I’m glad it came back for the quiz.” You laughed, heading out towards the door with Error following after. “I only really know the things I’ve already heard before.”  
  
“..͞.is ̡that w̛hy, ͏u͝h̵, y͢où d̸idn̛’̡t ̀kno̧w̶ abo͏út̢.͠..͡” He trailed off, sounding a little nervous. “.̀.͠.d͝atin͞g?” He flinched a bit when he said it.  
  
“I... guess so...? I can’t recall a whole lot that isn’t the Underground.” You laughed sheepishly. “Guess when I fell, I hit my head a little hard.”  
  
He didn’t say anything, and as the door opened and you stepped through you were hit with a nagging feeling again. You brushed it off, though.  
  
_It was probably nothing._  
  
~  
  
You hopped the next two arrow-vents, and landed...  
  
In a darkened kitchen.  
  
“That’s right...” You spoke aloud, so Error could hear you. “This is another one of Mettaton’s shows.”  
  
“a͢͠͏ǹ̵̛o̵͢t̴̴h̵er̷͠ on̛͝ȩ?̸!̴̕?̀” He sounded pretty upset, and you couldn’t blame him after how much he’d disliked the previous show.  
  
“Well, this one’s a-“  
  
You were cut off by lights coming on, highlighting Mettaton, and his theme music began. Cameras popped out from everywhere like they had before. This time, you could see something different about him. There was a large cord stuck into the center of his back and trailing away, over the edge of the platform to the right, and into the darkness. It looked like it had been stabbed into the rectangular robot, and there appeared to be dried oil surrounding it; it looked more like a parasite that had grabbed onto Mettaton than a plug.  
  
“OHHHH YES!!! WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIER COOKING SHOW!!!” If he felt anything from the cord, he wasn’t showing it. Then again, Mettaton was an actor; what if he was just faking that he was okay? “PRE-HEAT YOUR OVENS, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE FOR YOU TODAY! WE'RE GOING TO BE MAKING... A CAKE! MY LOVELY ASSISTANTS HERE WILL GATHER THE INGREDIENTS.” An almost blinding spotlight shone down on you and Error, and you had to shield your eyes. “EVERYONE GIVE THEM A BIG HAND!!!” You could hear an audience applause track being played, and the light died down. You rubbed your eyes to try and rid them of the white spots you were seeing. “WE'LL NEED SUGAR, MILK, AND EGGS. GO FOR IT, SWEETHEARTS!”  
  
Mettaton waited patiently, watching one of the cameras in front of him. Error didn’t move to pick anything up, so you took the initiative, setting down your spear and grabbing his sleeve, pulling him along. “Error, did you see Mettaton’s back?” You whispered quietly to him.  
  
“yeah́. ͢is t̢h̡at.̨..͏?”  
  
“I think so...” Another glitch. You might have to fight Mettaton, too. You handed Error the egg carton, and he reached out, grabbing it. Instead of being secure in his hand, though, it just dropped straight through him and onto the floor like he didn’t even exist. You both stared down at the eggs.  
  
“WHOOPS! THAT’S UNFORTUNATE, DARLING! BUT DON’T DESPAIR...” Mettaton dramatically reached into a cupboard beneath him, and pulled out another carton of eggs with a flourish. “A GOOD CHEF ALWAYS HAS BACKUPS!!” The fake applause played again, and you brought the rest of the ingredients back to the counter yourself.  
  
“PERFECT! GREAT JOB, BEAUTIFUL!” Mettaton had directed the statement at you, and from the corner of your eye you noticed Error had glared at him. Mettaton didn’t seem at all affected. “WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO BAKE THE CAKE! MILK... SUGAR... EGGS...... OH MY! WAIT A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! HOW COULD I FORGET!!! WE'RE MISSING THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!” He clapped his hands together, turning to you and Error. “A HUMAN SOUL!!!!”  
  
You heard a revving noise, and from your left a giant chainsaw had cut through the wall. It was attached to another, more massive, cord like the one attached to Mettaton. In your shock you hadn’t moved, and if Error hadn’t pulled you backwards by your soul you were sure you would have been dead. The chainsaw came crashing down, sawing through the tiles of the set and partway into the platform.  
  
“w̧͜h̀̀a̕t̡͘ ̵t͏h̷̕e̡̛ c͝r̀ap͟͝?́!҉̧?̡” Error pulled a blaster from the darkness, aiming for the cord and firing. You heard the sound of metal groaning, and the chainsaw cord hastily withdrew itself. The other lifted Mettaton into the air, hovering over the ledge where the other cord had vanished.  
  
“MY MY. IT SEEMS YOU'VE BESTED ME. BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAD THE HELP OF YOUR KNIGHT IN BONEY ARMOUR!” His voice sounded a little strange, almost like he wasn’t voluntarily speaking. “WELL, TOODLES!!” The cord dragged him down below, where you lost sight of him.  
  
“What... just happened?” You stared in shock at the large gash the chainsaw had left in the platform.  
  
“i wa̷s ͟h̡op͘íǹg̵ ̡y̵ou͢’̶d͟ ̕k͢n͞o̵w̸.͟” Error was unhappy, and he walked over to where your spear had fallen and picked it up, bringing it back to you. “b͘ut͜ ì’̵m̧ pre̛t̡ty͝ ͏su̵r̡e that͘ ̵t͞h́ing’s m̷ess͢e͢d ùp̵.”  
  
You nodded, standing an accepting the spear. “It definitely has something to do with those cords...” You looked off into the dark distance. “...We’re going to run into him before we can get to the end.”  
  
“heh,͠ d͟on͝’t̴ ͡wơr͜r͡y͠.̶” Error had one of those scary smiles on his face. “h̷̷é ̸̨wó̀n͘͝’t ̨b͜e̡̡ ̛͡͡in͝ ͡t͘h͘é́ ̧̛w̴͏à͞ý̴ ̴̶f̕or̨͠ l͟͡o͠ņ͝g.̛͠”  
  
Somehow, it was almost re-assuring to hear him say that.  
  
It made you feel a little sick inside.  
  
~  
  
To your surprise, elevator Right 1 had taken you to elevator Left 3 instead of its usual Left 2. Not that it was a bad thing; it allowed you to by-pass a large portion of Hotland that would have only involved puzzles. Still, it was unnerving in its own right.  
  
You’d passed the Spider Bake Sale stand, finding it completely empty. It really wasn’t much of a loss considering the prices of the treats, but it just made the place feel so much more empty than normal. _So much more lonely._  
  
“thi͡s͞ p͘lace ̧is͠...̛ ̵p͠r̶ęt͘ty ̢big, hųh͠?̡” Error was looking over the metal ledge and down at the three levels below, and the sea of zeroes and ones. From this distance, they looked a little more together; if you squinted, they looked normal.  
  
“Yeah.” You agreed, shaking off the sad feeling. “I was really surprised something so massive could be underground!”  
  
“ḿust’̨ve t̷a͏ken̵ ̴yo͡u̧ a͘ ͘w͠h̢ile ͟t̴o͠ ge̴t ̕t͟o t̢he ̴top͢.҉” He smiled, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning towards the next area. Suddenly he froze, staring straight ahead.  
  
“Wh-what?” You turned to see what he was looking at, and noticed something you hadn’t seen before.  
  
Rather than the next area, full of arrow-vents, there was a black wall of zeroes and ones blocking the way. You approached it cautiously, and reached out a hand to touch it. Your hand went through the data, causing it to make a strange, electronic noise, and you quickly pulled it back. You slowly turned to Error. “What... should we do...?”  
  
He shook his head, approaching it, and looking between you and the data. Then he spoke. “i ҉guess... w̢e ̨cąn̢ go̧ thro͢u͘g̢h?́”  
  
“Can we?” You stared blankly at the data. It hadn’t done anything bad to you, but you didn’t really like the sensation of it touching you. For some reason you couldn’t quite place, it bothered you.  
  
He shrugged. “do͏ ͟w̢e̢ hav͠e ͞o͢the̸r͟ optio͞ns̀? ̴this ̕is ͜t̵h͝e w͢ày͠ f́orwa͠r҉d, ̶ri̵gh̡t͜?”  
  
You tentatively reached into the data again, letting it swallow up your arm. Nervously, you reached out and grabbed Error’s sleeve, holding on tight. If you were going to get sucked up by this thing, you didn’t want to go through alone.  
  
You took a deep breath, and entered the dark wall of data.  
  
You felt a weird, tingling sensation all over, and heard a rush of sounds, almost like speaking. And then you and Error were standing outside the “Stage” portion of Hotland, you still clutching Error’s sleeve.  
  
You were filled with that nagging feeling again, and this time you could identify it.  
  
_You’d forgotten something._  
  
But what?  
  
“h̶e̶y, do͡n’t z͜oņe̵ ou̵t́ on ̸me now͡.͝” Error had spoken, and you came back from your thoughts, smiling at him.  
  
“Sorry, sorry! Guess we’re okay, though!” You released his sleeve, rubbing your hands together nervously.  
  
The stage was just ahead. That meant you’d probably see Mettaton again, one last time before the spot where you’d battle him. You wondered if he would look any different this time. The thought filled you with dread, but you pushed on.  
  
There was silence as you and Error entered the stage, walking towards the center. When you looked over at him, Error had a suspicious look on his face, not trusting the setting.  
  
“OH? THAT HUMAN... COULD IT BE...?” You heard Mettaton’s voice ring out over the stage, singling you out. A spotlight turned on above Mettaton, and other than the cord, he didn’t look too different. The look of suspicion on Error’s face had turned to a plaintive one, as if to say ‘really? again?’. You stifled a laugh.  
  
“... MY ONE TRUE LOVE?” Mettaton finished, reaching for you dramatically. This got a different reaction from Error. He suddenly looked unhappy, glowering up at the robot. What had made him mad?  
  
Mettaton lifted his blue dress and began descending the stairs, except... now there was a series of cords falling from his back, and sides as well, all looking rather painful. You wanted to ask him about them, but instead he had begun singing, approaching you wistfully. “Oh my love, Please run away, Monster King, forbids your stay...”  
  
But before he could get close to you, a veritable net of blue threads appeared in front of him, completely blocking him from approaching you. Both you and Mettaton turned to Error, who had an irritated smile on his face that was directed at the TV star. “n̴̵͠o̡̢p̢̛e̵̷͡.͟͞͠” Was all he said, sounding dangerous and strained.  
  
“(KA-SIGH...)” Mettaton muttered to himself. “(THE SHOW MUST GO ON!)” He had said it just loudly enough so you and Error could hear him. “OOMPH! I AM SO OVERWHELMED WITH TRAGEDIES. THE KING HAS ORDERED YOU TO WASTE AWAY IN THE CASTLE BASEMENT.” He posed dramatically, staying in his spot. “AND WE NEVER EVEN GOT TO SING A SWEET SONG ABOUT IT.” He shot Error what you imagined was an accusing look, and Error looked satisfied with himself, not letting the threads down. “MY DEAR HEART! I CAN BARELY LOOK UPON YOU, KNOWING WHAT COMES NEXT... WELL, TOODLES!” He waved goodbye as a large trap door opened beneath you and Error. You panicked for a second, but were quickly caught by light blue threads, and Error himself had stopped his own fall in the same manner.  
  
“n̨ic͡e ̡t͞ry, tin̷ ̷ca̡n.” Error smirked, and Mettaton looked absolutely livid.  
  
Though he said nothing, his face screen had gone completely red, and the smaller wires on his body shot out, crackling with electricity. Error quickly yanked you out of the way, as a result causing you to fall onto the stage rather hard and drop your spear a few feet away from you. He himself had gotten hit with one of the cords since he’d been unable to move himself quickly enough, and used his threads to bat it away, falling to the stage near you.  
  
As Mettaton launched another assault, you saw your opening; the thick cord on Mettaton’s back was exposed while he was dealing with Error, and you ran at it, scooping up your spear. You could feel small shocks of pain occasionally as an electrical cord snapped at you, but you powered through the pain. When you’d gotten close enough, you pulled back and jabbed the spear as hard as you could into the cord, quickly pulling out to avoid the electrical surge that followed.  
  
There was a metallic screech, and then Mettaton was suddenly jerked backwards over the ledge again, like he was nothing more than a rag doll.  
  
You shakily used the spear as support, and you inhaled heavily. That had been scary. You turned to Error, who was gently rubbing the spot he’d been zapped. It looked a little glitched, and you walked over next to him, concern evident in your voice. “Are you alright? That looked like it hurt...”  
  
“i͟’m̨ go̧od̡. ͝i̸’͘m͘ jưśt g͝lad͢ ̧h̴e.̸.̢.” He trailed off, looking like he realized something, and then looked away from you. “ho͠w͏ ̀abou͡t ̵y͢o̸u͘?”  
  
“I’ve... been... worse.” You finished unsteadily. You **had** been worse much earlier. “Tired, but otherwise okay.” You laughed weakly.  
  
“w̶e͘ ̢c̕a̴n̡ take͟ ̷a b͟r͏e͝ak, y̷’kn̢ow.͢” He smiled sheepishly, his hands back in his pockets. “i ̶mean,͠ we̴’ŕé ̷a̵lmost̡ ҉t͜h͠ęr͡e,͏ s͜ơ.̕..͝”  
  
“... That’s... not a bad idea.” You smiled more genuinely. The MTT Resort was just up ahead; even if you couldn’t get a room to sleep, at least you might be able to grab something to eat, or sit for a little while. “I know a place we can go.”  
  
He nodded, looking relieved. “lȩa̸d͏ ̢o͘n̛, ͟t̢he̴n̛.͘”  
  
“Right!” You laughed, lifting your spear and heading off the stage. You felt a bit better, now, because after all...  
  
He was right. You were almost there.  
  
_It was almost over._  
 


	11. DATA RESTORATION: 80%

**DATA RESTORATION: 80%**  
  
The resort was, of course, a little too high-end for your lack of funds; That was why when you went to get some food from the Glamburger, you were surprised to find that when you’d come back Error had gotten a room for you to sleep in. You’d asked him how he’d done it, and he sort of danced around the question, but... you had a pretty good feeling you knew how.  
  
You weren’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, though.  
  
You plopped down on one side of the massive, plush bed, and with a little goading you’d gotten Error to sit on the other side. The two of you settled in, and began eating the food you’d bought.  
  
“...t͜here͟’s͟ g͢l̛itt͡e͟r̨ i̶ń my͜ bur̶ǵer.̸” Error stated with a level of disbelief, even turning to show you the pink glitter-covered patty.  
  
You laughed, sipping from your Starfait. “I think there’s glitter in everything there.”  
  
“w̸h͟y̧?͘”  
  
“Umm...” You furrowed your brows. What had Burgerpants said? Oh, right! “Because it’s ‘spark-tacular!’” You made a rainbow motion with your hands for emphasis, and Error laughed.  
  
“you͘ l͘o͡oķ ̕l͡i͘k̢e a ̛do͜r͠k͟.̶”  
  
“Well!” You pretended to be affronted. “That’s the last time I buy you a glittery burger!”  
  
You both broke into laughter at this, and then fell into a comfortable silence as you ate. It felt nice to be in this closed-off room and able to relax; It almost felt like there was nothing wrong with the world, like you weren’t going to the end to reset. You liked it.  
  
“Oh, hey! I’d been meaning to ask you something!” You sat up straight, and turned to look eagerly at Error. He suddenly looked pretty nervous.  
  
“ẃ-wh̷a̧t͏.̨..͢?”  
  
“Can I... try on your glasses?” You gave him the most plying look you could muster, hoping he’d agree.  
  
He relaxed and laughed, digging around in his jacket. “w̧hy̨? ̴ýou w͡o͘n̨’t ̸be ̢ab͡lè t͟o ̀s̨e̷e͟.͝”  
  
“I just want to see what it’d be like!” You laughed. You’d never thought to ask Alphys to see hers until it was too late, but you’d always been curious about them.  
  
“ḩe͠re̛.” He handed you the glasses. “knoc̡k yòurse͞lf̀ ͡ou͜t̨.”  
  
You handled them delicately, carefully unfolding them and placing them on your face.  
  
He wasn’t kidding, you really couldn’t see. You held your hand in front of your face and marveled at how large and hyper-focused it looked. “Woah, you **are** pretty near-sighted, huh?” He didn’t answer, and when you looked up at him curiously you could make out a light blue blush on his face. He quickly looked away, though, and you looked down, sliding the glasses off.  
  
“S-sorry.” You laughed sheepishly, handing them back. The difference in sight felt a little dizzying, but you shook it off. “Guess that was kinda mean to say.”  
  
“w͠h͘àt̸?̕ ̛i ̴do̵n’͟t̢ ̨re͝all̢y͢ c͠a̢rè ͘aboųt͞ ̸ **t͠ha̛t́**.” He accepted the glasses, sticking them in his jacket again.  
  
“Oh? Then what...?”  
  
“yo͜u͟, ̸um..͜.̢” He looked like he was struggling with what he wanted to say, and you waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts. “i̢̡t̸̢ẃ͞ą̸s̶͢͟c͏̸̀u̴t́̀̕e.̧̡͜” He finally said, looking frustrated and determined all at once.  
  
Cute.  
  
He said you were cute, wearing his glasses. Your heart fluttered.  
  
“Umm, th-thanks...” You shyly looked away, leaning back against the pillows again.  
  
There was a short silence, and then Error spoke.  
  
“h͠e̷y̵, ̵c̢an̷ ͘i ͠ask͏ ̛yo͝u͢ s͝omet͟h̢i͝n̛g?͡”  
  
“Sure. What is it?” You crumpled the thick blanket beneath you with your toes to distract yourself.  
  
“.̧..͏w͜h́o are ͢yo̕u̢,̶ exactl͜y?͡”  
  
The question had thrown you for a loop, and you looked over at him, wondering if it was a joke. He looked completely serious, though. “I’m f/n.” You answered simply.  
  
“i ͜know t͟h͠a̧t.̷” He was wringing the blanket beneath his phalanges. “i͟ ͝mea̛n,̧ ̸wh́at ́d͞o ͢ỳo̡u͜ **d͞o̵** h̛e̡re?”  
  
“I... I go through the Underground and help everyone...” You furrowed your brows. Why was he asking this? Hadn’t you already told him? Then again, his memory wasn’t the greatest...  
  
He was silent for a moment, but then continued. “it̨’̧s̕ just ͠th͞at͘..̡.̷” He looked up at you, making eye contact. “ **i̸’ve n͏ev̷e̢r̶ se͡e̡n an̕yo͝n͡e͏ ̷liķe ͡y̸o͘ù b̡efo̷re, i͘n ͞ąǹy̸ ot̨he̴r̷ tim͡elin̸e.͏** ”  
  
You looked away from him, and at your lap. Never? He’d never seen anyone like you? “But didn’t you say that there are... versions of everyone?”  
  
He nodded. “ye͝a̶h,̴ bùt..̨.͏ you̶’re the ̶fi̧rst͘..͠. **y̢o͞u** th̨a͞t̢ ͘i’ve ̀e̴ve͘r̀ met̡.”  
  
That stumped you. You didn’t know how timelines worked, but if what he said was true, shouldn’t there be more of you? “I...” You trailed off, at a loss.  
  
Seeing your confusion, he shook his head. “but,̀ ah, ̢i͡ ͟h̸a̧v̡e̶n̸’t͡ ̨b̨eèn ̀t̢o͟ ̶a̶ll ̶of ͝them҉.͡ ̷máy͝be ̴i’ve j̶us̷t b͜een mís͘s̴in̸g o͞ne͏s̷ ̧wh́ere ̡y̨o̷u̸’re͢ ̧st͢íl̀ĺ...?”  
  
Still alive...? As dark as it was, maybe that was it. Maybe you’d died in every other timeline. The thought chilled you. “...maybe...”  
  
There was a silence again, but you quickly brushed off the bad thoughts. “Well! I think I’m gonna get a bit of sleep before we keep going. It’s pretty much a straight run from here to Flowey.”  
  
“ri͜gḩt̶.̨” He moved to slide out of the bed.  
  
“Um!” You made the sound before you thought of what to say, and he paused, looking back at you. “Maybe you should, uh... at least rest for a while? That shock still looks a little painful...” You gestured to the glitched part of his body where he’d been hit. He gave you a hesitant look, and you quickly followed up. “I promise I won’t touch you or anything! I don’t roll a lot in my sleep!” For some reason, you just... _really didn’t want to be alone._  
  
He was quiet and unmoving, but then slowly got back into the bed, lying down on his side of it. “...͏a̶lrig̸ht. i̡f̨ y̴ou sąy só.̛”  
  
“Thank you...” You reached over and turned off the light on your side, not bothering to cover up. You hadn’t realized how tired you were until you had closed your eyes, and drifted off immediately.  
  
~  
  
You could feel your body being dragged somewhere in the darkness. You couldn’t move, you couldn’t see. Then the movement stopped, and you were suspended in the dark, alone.  
  
Then you felt it.  
  
It was like a soft, gnawing sensation, like you were losing something.  
  
You looked down, and saw... it. It didn’t look scary; just a plain, glowing white rectangle that had attached itself to your skin. It was what it was doing that filled you with horror.  
  
It was eating away at you.  
  
You could see yourself falling apart, bits and pieces of you slowly being absorbed into the white rectangle. Then there was another. And another. And another.  
  
They were all eating you.  
  
You wanted to scream, shout... but you couldn’t. You couldn’t move, other than to watch them eat you. You were dying.  
  
Your ears slowly began filling with static as the darkness around you began to move, reaching for you, and as it got closer you could see it was all just condensed zeroes and ones, swallowing you up.  
  
You were terrified. You were alone.  
  
_Help._  
  
~  
  
“h̵ęy̵, f̴/̕n͞! ͏wake̢ ̛up!͠”  
  
You woke with a start, bumping into an arm. When you realized where you were, you looked over to see Error’s glowing eyes in the darkness, looking concerned. “.͢.̡.ar͢e̵ yo̡u alr̶ig̀ht͢?҉”  
  
A dream. It had only been a dream. “Y-Yeah, I think I’m... okay. Just a nightmare.” You laughed nervously, scooting away from him a little. You hadn’t realized how much closer you’d rolled to him in your sleep; you hadn’t touched him, but... you’d gotten pretty close.  
  
He seemed satisfied with the answer, and relaxed. “Sorry.” You apologized, rubbing your arm.  
  
“h͞uh?͏ it’̴s͘ ̸fi̵ne.” He shrugged it off. “hơne͢s̛tl͘y,͞ ҉i ̢wasn’̷t͡ ̴s̡ure͘ wh̡ether ͡i̸ ͟should wa̴kȩ ̢y̡ou ͏o̸r͞ ͘no͠t,͢ but̶ ͡t̴h͠ey̕ to̶l͏d ̵me̸- “  
  
“They?” You cut him off. Who were “they”?  
  
He had a guilty look on his face, like you’d suddenly caught him doing something terrible. When he said nothing, you spoke again.  
  
“...Error...?” You urged him on, watching him in the darkness. He had summoned his threads, and was fiddling around with them nervously.  
  
“i̴t’̡s...̡” He seemed terribly hesitant. “i͝t’́s͠ ͞thę.̷..” He seemed to re-think whatever he was about to say, and began a third time. “d͡’̴yòu rem͞emb͢ér ̴t̨h͘ę ̶e̢cho f̧l̕ǫwérs͡?̧”  
  
“Yes.” You really weren’t sure where he was going with this, but asking questions right now probably wasn’t going to help him explain better.  
  
“and͘ ̕ḩow͜ y̴ou͏ s̴aid͟.͡..͠ ̢hear͡i̛n͞g wh̀isper̷ś ͜w̵o͡ul̸d g̡et ҉a͡n͜no̶ying.̶.͜.͞?”  
  
You nodded, waiting for him to continue. After a moment, he finally did.  
  
“w͟e͠ll͞.̨.͢.͝ ̕i kind o͘f ͢hear͝ w̷ḩi̧spèrs̶.͟” He was fiddling with the threads again, staring down at them. “a̢ll th̶e̵ ̨t͝i͝me̛.”  
  
You took a second to process that. **That** must have been why he had gotten so upset over the comment in Waterfall; hearing whispers all the time was normal for him. “...What do they say?”  
  
He seemed surprised you asked more, but answered. “a ͡l͏o̢t o̸f ͡st͝úf̡f. s̵om͏ęt̵i̕mes they ͠ask qųest̛i͜o͟ns͡, ̀or͞ com̛m͢eņt on̡ things͡.͟..” He still had his gaze averted, not daring to look at you. “m̨o̶s͞tly it’s͠ n͠ot v̛ery he̢lp̛ful.̶ ̢b̧ųt̴ ͡som͡ȩtimes, l̶ìk͟e͘ w̸hen̛ y̵o͡u̕ ͞we̷r̨e ́h͠a͢vi̡ng ̡tha͝t ̢ni͢gh͘tm̷are.̢..͠ t͟hey͡ **a͠r̨e** hel͡p͜f̡ul.̀”  
  
It explained a lot. Why he would just zone out sometimes, or how he seemed to know exactly what to do. Even why he didn’t hear some things you did. “Well...” You began, and he looked ashamed. “That’s... good to know!”  
  
“wh̶at??͝?” He was shocked, looking straight at you now. “w̶h̡y͡??̡”  
  
“Huh? Well, I guess it’s because I understand you better.” You shuffled your feet under the blanket, tugging it up your legs a little. “I mean, now I know if I hear something too quiet, I should tell you so you know about it, too.”  
  
There was silence. Then...  
  
“you̕’҉re͡ ̵so̵ ̛s̨tŕa͡ngę.” He laughed softly, warmly. “th͟e ̸wa͏y̵ ͝y̕ou ju͘st͟ t͘a͠k͟e ͜everyt͡h͠ín̸g ͘in stri͠de.̛”  
  
You laughed softly, too, and buried yourself under the covers. You felt nice and warm. “I either have to take everything in stride, or just quit. And I can’t quit until you’re safe again.”  
  
“why̷ ̶d̕o y͏o͘u ca͡r͡e͜ ́s͝o̷ ̵m̕u͞ch͘ i͠f͡ ͜i͝’m̕ ̢śa̵fe.̡..?͠” He had a sad smile now, but he was still looking at you, almost searching for an answer.  
  
And you had one. “Because I **like** you. I told you that before.”  
  
He was quiet for a while, and you closed your eyes, feeling sleepy again. Just before you drifted off, you heard him speak softly.  
  
“...͢ ͝i͢ ͜ **l̸ik̕e** you͘,̵ t͝o͞o͘.̷”  
  
~  
  
You stood nervously outside the entrance to the CORE, listening to the faint mood music coming from the Hotel. All that was left was the CORE, New Home, and then you were there. There were no more rest stops, no more silly situations you could get into.  
  
Just the end.  
  
Error had stood beside you, letting you take a second to collect yourself. Finally, after a short while, he spoke.  
  
“s̴o?̶”  
  
You didn’t respond, staring at the glowing blue light from the CORE. **Now** wasn’t the time to be scared. You had to be strong. You had to keep going. You took a deep breath.  
  
“Let’s go.”  
  
~  
  
The CORE had always scared you a little. It was full of difficult monsters, and you had always gone it alone, with only Alphys’ calls to keep you going. You did have Error this time, but it didn’t make the situation any less unnerving.  
  
At least this time, it seemed devoid of monsters.  
  
It was a little consoling to see Error looking a little unnerved by the darkness and exposed wires of the CORE; at least you knew you weren’t being unreasonable.  
  
When you approached the laser grid, you’d noticed it was already turned off. “Alphys probably saw us coming this way.” You commented, cautiously walking across the bridge. “But every other time I’m here, they turn back on...” And almost like saying it had made it happen, the grid of blue flicked on, and you’d just barely managed to turn and stop both yourself and Error from moving. He was flickering a little from your hand against his chest, but otherwise hadn’t moved, staring at you in surprise. You heard a soft static noise, and the grid flicked off. “We have to move!” You shifted your hand and grabbed Error’s sleeve, pulling him along behind you and listening carefully for the tell-tale clicks of the power.  
  
“i ̸caǹ ͘jus̕t-̕ “ You stopped him again as the power flicked back on, bathing the two of you in blue lasers. They flickered off again, and he looked a bit irritated. “de̡str̶oy͞ ͢t͠he̢m̵,̡ ̧you k͜nòw.͏” You were pulling him again, almost at the end of the bridge.  
  
“Oh, right.” In your worry, you’d forgotten about that. You paused the both of you as the lasers came on, then flicked off. “But I mean, we’re basically there.” You hurried off the bridge, finally letting go of Error’s sleeve. “Sorry.” You laughed a little.  
  
He shrugged. “it̵’s f͘in͠ę. i͘f̀ ̡yo͘u’r̷e̢ ͢co̧ming u͡p on̕ ͡aǹyt́hing̵ ̶d͞an̶ge͟rous̶ l͞ike t̶h̴a̴t͠,̷ ̕t͏ell me.” He sounded very firm, and it warmed your heart. He was worried about you being injured.  
  
“Okay, okay.” You laughed more genuinely, taking a left at the CORE nexus to get to the ‘Box’ puzzle.  
  
“seri̕ou͜sĺy.” He followed behind you. “i can̡ ̧help͏. you͞’̢r͡e͟ n̨o ͟goơd̡ ͡a̴t͜ d̴estroyi͟n͘g thìngs.̨”  
  
You huffed and entered the puzzle room, immediately falling back and letting Error do it. He was better at them than you ever were, and there was no sense wasting time waiting for you to get them right. “I can’t help it, I’ve never really had to FIGHT before.”  
  
“ex̷ac̷tl͝y͞.͠” He finished the puzzle, and gave you a smug look. “t̴h͏át’s ̵w̵hy̸ yo͢u̷ h͜a̴ve͡ t̀o ͟c̸al͘l͏ m͠e̡ ̶i̛f̶ you ev̡er ha͢ve͏ ̀t͡o̡ ҉F̸IG͟HT̕.̕”  
  
Although you were frowning, your flushed face belied your true emotions. “...I will. I promise.”  
  
He froze up for a second, then his expression darkened, and he walked out the door. You followed after. “h̨eh,̛ do͜n’t m̨ák̢e pro̧mises͠, ͢k͟i͜d.̸”  
  
“What? Why?” You jogged a little ways ahead, leading the two of you to the North corridor where the other switch to open the doors ahead would be.  
  
“’͡c̛ause yo͟u’l͡l alw͞ay̵s e͜n̵d ̧up b̛re͜a̛ki͞n͘g̕ ̢t͞h͏em.”  
  
_You’ll always end up breaking them._  
  
Your head hurt a little when he’d said that, like you were trying to remember something.  
  
But nothing came.  
  
“you a͝lrig̴ht? ͠did͝ǹ’t̢ ͘mȩan̡ to ̷fréak̸ y̨o͏u ͠ou̕t̵ ̕or ͡an͞yt͜h͡i͞ng͜..̡.” Error was staring at you, and you realized you’d stopped walking.  
  
“Oh, I’m... I’m fine, really!” You shook it off, laughing awkwardly. “Just thought I... remembered something.  
  
He didn’t say anything, but a strange look crossed his face for a second before being replaced with his usual grin. “wel͡l?͞”  
  
“Right, right!” You led the way again, changing the subject. “There’s one switch up ahead we have to hit, and then we can go to the center of the CORE and leave.” You paused in front of the bridge that led to said switch; normally you’d encounter strong monsters here, but... you didn’t see any hint of them now. “Maybe you should wait here? I’ll be coming right back.” You suggested.  
  
He looked a little hesitant, but acquiesced, and so you headed across the bridge with Error watching your back.  
  
It was strange. You’d thought you’d heard something when you entered the room and brushed it off as air flowing, but now... it had gotten a little louder. It sounded almost mechanical, like something moving consistently, but every once in a while you’d hear the sound of metal crunching. It was distant, though. You were so caught up in listening to the new sound that you hadn’t noticed a section of the bridge was just... missing.  
  
It didn’t make sense; you had never been required to do anything in particular to make the bridge whole, so you really had no idea what to do here. You glanced back at Error, debating whether to ask him for help or not, but when you turned back you were shocked to see that the missing section of bridge had almost completely rebuilt itself, as though it suddenly realized it **was** supposed to be there.  
  
You were a bit shaken, but continued forward, brushing the incident off as nothing more than another one of the glitches. You hit the switch to unlock the last door, and hurried back to Error; being alone had made you weirdly nervous.  
  
When you met up with him again and traversed the hallways, you could have sworn you’d heard the noise you’d heard earlier, but a little louder. “Hey, do you hear that, Error?” You questioned, turning to face him and walking backwards.  
  
“he̶a͠r ẁhát̴?” He glanced around the hallways. The voices must have been drowning it out, and so you decided to explain it as best you could.  
  
“It’s sort of quiet, but it sounds like... a robot or something...” When you saw his expression sour, you stifled a laugh. “Not like Mettaton! I meant more of a giant machine.”  
  
He looked thoughtful, and then shrugged. “we̢ll̡, i ̀m̨ęàn̸, ar̷en’́t̨ we k͠ind̵ o̧f ̡ **i̧n** ͝a̸ ͡gian̶t ̨machíņe ͟r̵i͝g͏h́t̵ ͡n̴ow̵?”  
  
He had a point. “That’s true.” You faced forward again, and carefully traversed the last bridge. “It just seemed kinda odd, is all.” You finished, and paused in front of the doorway to the CORE. You tried the elevator, but of course, it didn’t come. “Looks like... we’ll have to face Mettaton.”  
  
You chewed your lip nervously, staring into the darkness. Error had noticed, and you felt your soul get tugged a little, causing you to turn and face him with a confused expression.  
  
“h͞av̡e ̕y̡o͡u ͝di̸e͟d y̷e͜t̀?”  
  
“...What?”  
  
“h̢av͝e͢ y̸ǫu͝ d̸ie͏d ͞ye͠t͝.͏” He repeated, giving you a serious look.  
  
“No.” You weren’t sure where he was going with this.  
  
“an̛d yòu are͘n’̧t ͘gǫnn̷a ̶d͟ie ̷n͜o͏w. ͠so ͠q̸uit̶ wo͜r͟ry͘in͟g͠.̶” Your eyes widened, and you couldn’t help but smile a little.  
  
“...Same goes to you.” You closed your eyes and inhaled deeply, then entered the darkened room.  
  
~  
  
(✮)  
  
It had happened so fast, you barely had a chance to process the events. You had meant to approach Mettaton like always, only this time he wasn’t there. Just as you had turned to speak to Error, the entire section of the CORE began shaking and a giant mechanical leg burst through the wall to your left, sending debris flying all over the place. It clamped onto the ledge of the platform you and Error stood on, causing both of you to lose your balance.  
  
Two more mechanical legs tore the wall open entirely, and the creature pulled itself from the side of the room and into view. It had four large mechanical legs, each outfitted with what looked like heavy-duty clamps on the feet. The legs stretched far upwards into the rectangular torso, which was covered in various steam valves, and at the very center was Mettaton, molded into the body. The mechanical creature balanced itself, planting each of its four legs against the walls of the room, and loomed over the end portion of the platform.  
  
“WE’VE GOT A FANTASTIC SHOW FOR YOU TODAY!!” Mettaton called out as various electrical wires snaked out from the torso, plugging themselves into the ceiling. “TODAY, WE’LL BE **KILLING** OUR LOVELY CONTESTANTS!” The lights went down and four spotlights turned on, shining down on you and Error. “TAKE A BOW, DARLINGS!!” An applause machine turned on somewhere, and a series of camera on wires snaked out of the walls, all aimed at you and Error.  
  
Error was glaring at Mettaton, and you were a little shell-shocked, clutching your spear. The machine released a hissing sound, and suddenly a large, flat piece of metal shot down from the ceiling on a rod, smashing into the floor just in front of you with tremendous force. “THEY’LL BE CRUSHED!” Mettaton sang as the flattened metal slowly raised itself back up. You moved to step back, but startled by a sudden whooshing noise you froze. When you turned, you’d seen that Error had avoided being struck by a fairly large screw. “THEY’LL BE STABBED!” You were just about to open your mouth when a wire from the machine lashed out at you, electricity crackling through it. Although it only hit you for a moment, you felt a burst of pain that caused you to inhale sharply. “THEY’LL BE SHOCKED!!” He rotated, turning to look at a camera behind him. “ISN’T THAT SIMPLY WONDERFUL, FOLKS? WELL THEN...” He turned to face you and Error, and you noticed everything around you shifting; ceiling pieces were moving away to reveal more flatteners, walls were moving to reveal more screw-launchers, and another long wire had emerged from the machine. “DRAMA! ROMANCE! BLOODSHED! I’LL MAKE YOUR LAST LIVING MOMENTS... ABSOLUTELY GLAMOROUS!”  
  
“Crap!!” You moved in time to avoid a line of screws being fired at you, and barely avoided running into the path of a flattener. What was the plan?!? You didn’t even have time to look at Error, the onslaught coming too quickly; if you weren’t staying out of the way of the flatteners, you were trying to avoid the line of fire of the screws and fend off the wires. Not only that, but the cameras were quickly becoming a nuisance, conveniently blocking your view of attacks at times. You had to think of some way to stop this. Mettaton would never get tired, since he was a robot... but wait, he **could** run out of power!!  
  
“ERROR!!” You had to yell over the din of clashing metal and crackling electricity.  
  
“y͠ea͜h?̶?” Good, he was still okay. And he sounded fairly close.  
  
“The wires attached to the ceiling! It’s plugging itself in!!” You pointed your spear at the ceiling, where the wires connected.  
  
“he̴h͝, ͏g̶oţ i͠t̡!̷” While avoiding a wire, you noticed Error was quickly working his way towards the machine, and it didn’t seem too happy. It was focusing most of its attacks at him now, the other wire abandoning you in favor of joining the one already hassling Error, and you followed after it.  
  
As it reared up to jab at him, you shoved your spear in the way, silently praying that the spear didn’t conduct electricity; thankfully, it didn’t, and it had its intended effect of causing the wire to wrap around it slightly. You jerked the spear backwards, pulling the wire with you and causing it to catch the second one, putting them both out of commission for a second. It wasn’t much of an opportunity, but Error took it, using the moment to summon and Error Blaster and fire it at the ceiling the wires were hanging from, effectively destroying the connection.  
  
The machine made a noise of groaning metal, falling downwards awkwardly from lack of outside power. “CLEVER. VERY CLEVER.” Mettaton chided from the torso. “BUT NOT CLEVER ENOUGH!”  
  
The machine re-calibrated itself, standing up fully. The square on Mettaton’s face had turned red, and some boxes had turned black, forming a makeshift frown. Using the walls as supports, it began to walk towards you, three smaller mechanical arms emerging from the torso; two with vicious-looking chainsaws on the ends, and the one in the middle a clamp-like hand.  
  
There definitely wouldn’t be enough space to dodge this, and you quickly back-tracked to the very edge of the platform, Error following suit. Annoyingly enough, the cameras still followed every action.  
  
“DON’T WORRY, DARLINGS! THIS WILL ONLY HURT A BIT!”  
  
“What do we do?!?” You asked Error, readying your spear. This was different. It wasn’t plugged in anymore, how were you supposed to stop it?  
  
One of the chainsaws had gotten dangerously close, and you and Error barely managed to avoid the swing of one, and then the back-swing of the other. A camera hovered close to you, causing you to trip over it when you backed up. “I really HATE these things!!!” It backed up, moving behind you.  
  
Error’s eyes lit up suddenly, and he grinned, using his threads to wrangle the camera and drag it out a little. “hold́ ̵s̛t̴ill.” He commanded, ducking a chainsaw and shooting at the clamp with his Blaster.  
  
A chainsaw was coming right for you. Any sane person would have ignored the demand, and gotten out of the way, but... you stood up, staying in place. The chainsaw was getting closer.  
  
“w͘ai̴t...͠” Error called out, still holding the camera in place near you. He narrowly avoided being struck again by the second chainsaw.  
  
Your ears were filled with the revving sound of the chainsaw, and it came full-force at you. Just as it was seconds away from hitting you, Error shouted. “ **d̴u͠ck̕!!̡!!!̀** ” and you did, flattening yourself on the ground to avoid the chainsaw’s horizontal swing. At the same time, Error forced the camera forward so that it was in the same place you had once been.  
  
When the chainsaw struck the camera, it shattered, and because it was still attached to the wall it sent a violent electrical shock up the chainsaw and straight into the mechanical monstrosity. It released a screeching noise of metal on metal, and Mettaton’s face-screen went haywire, the mechanical body staggering backwards to its original starting position. The steam valves on it had begun shooting data out like smoke.  
  
Although Mettaton’s screen was still going haywire, the machine released an enraged sound, launching the chainsaws forward again. This time, you had an idea. “The chainsaws!” You made eye contact with Error, and he nodded, grinning wider. It seemed he liked the unspoken plan.  
  
You ran forward, baiting the chainsaw on your side. A small shock of pain ran through you as it got a little too close for comfort, but you dodged it otherwise successfully, leading it closer and closer to the center of the room, and you glanced backwards at Error every once in a while to make sure he was doing the same. It seemed the machine was far too enraged from the electrocution and the taunting of Error’s Blaster to notice, and that was what you’d been banking on.  
  
When your back bumped Error’s arm, you knew you were in position. You saw the chainsaw on your side careening towards you, and you could hear the one on Error’s side doing the same. “th̢r̕e̛e͟..̕.”  
  
Closer.  
  
“Two...”  
  
Almost.  
  
“ONE!” You’d both said it at the same time. Error had transported himself up into the air, safely out of the way of the chainsaws, using the threads on your souls to lift you as well. You’d dropped your spear, but both chainsaws collided in a horrible screech of metal, bits scattering all over the platform, and the larger chunks flying outwards, two of the larger pieces lodging themselves into its legs and causing it to collapse. You both landed on the ground amidst the wreckage; the machine wasn’t moving.  
  
You approached the torso, looking on in concern at Mettaton. He wasn’t speaking anymore, though the cameras on the walls were still moving, capturing all the action. Wait, if the cameras were still being powered...  
  
Your eyes widened, and you turned to warn Error; the large clamp hadn’t been dealt with, but in a moment of horror you saw it grab hold of him, starting to close tightly.  
You panicked, doubling back and grabbing your spear as the torso stirred, propping itself up slightly.  
  
Without a second thought, you launched yourself at the torso, jamming your spear straight into the control center... into Mettaton.  
  
There was a sharp burst of electricity, Mettaton’s screen going white. Then the machine powered down, completely collapsing on the platform and sending debris everywhere. The cameras, too, had simply fallen lifelessly, hanging off the walls by their wires.  
  
You released the embedded spear, and turned to check out Error. “Are you alright?!?” The clamp had dropped him, and he was coughing a little, but otherwise seemed okay.  
  
“m҉’ ̨goo̸d.̧” He waved a hand at you, standing up straight.  
  
You exhaled softly, and then slowly turned back to face Mettaton. Electricity crackled from him, and you couldn’t help but feel terrible. Although he had unwittingly become the ‘brain’ of the machine, you knew that in the end, he’d never really wanted to hurt you. He just wanted to be a star.  
  
“H... ha... so I was wrong.” Mettaton spoke suddenly, and brokenly, his robotic voice catching at intervals. You said nothing, just stared sadly at him. He was bleeding data out from around the spear, still embedded in him.  
  
“Darling... You really are strong e-enough to get- past ASGORE...” He shifted a little, and you could see he was pulling his arms from the torso. They were covered in oil, dripping like blood from the long gashes where the machine had attached itself, and onto the platform below.  
  
_This was wrong._  
  
He’d reached out an arm sluggishly to you, like he couldn’t quite make it do what he wanted it to. “I-It's time for you to g-go.” You caught the hand before it could fall completely, holding on to all its weight with both your own hands.  
  
“I might se-e-em like I'm dying, but... Dr. A-Alphys can a-always...” He trailed off. She couldn’t fix this. You knew it, and he knew it. You closed your eyes. “Besides... Even if I'm n-not cut out to be a s-star...” You could feel his hand weakly close a little around yours.  
  
“ **I still got to perform for a human, didn't I?** ” He sounded tired, like it was difficult for him to keep speaking, but... happy. It was breaking your heart. “So, th-thank you, d-d-darling... for... being...” His voice had lowered, and gradually cut out completely, his entire frame going limp.  
  
You turned away, releasing his hand. You didn’t even want the spear back; you couldn’t bring yourself to see him again to pull it out. You just wanted to go.  
  
Error must have understood, because he didn’t say anything about it, silently following after you.  
  
(✮)  
  
When you reached the next hallway, he fell into step beside you. “..͞.͞i͝t͠’ş al̕most ̸ov͘e̢r̀.”  
  
“...I know.”  
  
You took a deep breath.  
  
“I know.”  


	12. DATA RESTORATION: 90%

**DATA RESTORATION: 90%**  
  
The two of you stood in the elevator, waiting for it to reach New Home. You’d leaned against the wall, enjoying the cooling sensation and the low humming noise the elevator was making.  
  
You’d been through a lot this last playthrough; it had been far more difficult than any other time you’d ever done it. Toriel, Undyne, and Mettaton were gone. Papyrus was injured. Flowey was missing. It would all have been too much. But...  
  
“c͜’m̨on̵,̷ w͠e͢’re almo̕s̕t ͟ther͟e̷.̡”  
  
The elevator had stopped, and you stood up straight. Error was holding the door to make sure it didn’t close with you still in it, smiling at you like always.  
  
You weren’t doing it alone, at least. Error had been with you all the way.  
  
You smiled, walking out the elevator. “Thanks.”  
  
It was going to be a bit of a long walk through New Home, but at least it would give you a chance to have one last talk with Error.  
  
“So...” You began a little out of the blue. “Do you know the story about this place? Well, I mean, I guess you would, huh?”  
  
“i’ḿ ̢su͏re̶ i̧ ͟d̢o.” He smiled sheepishly. “i d͏on’͜t͡ al̀wa͏ys ͞r͢e̡m̧e̛m͢b̕er th̵ese thi̷n͡g̨s̕, tho͢u̧gh.̧”  
  
You nodded, smiling. “It’s sort of sad, anyways. Not really something I think a lot of people would **want** to remember.” He nodded, and you continued. “But I guess it’s not always so bad to remember the bad things.”  
  
“n̕ó?̨”  
  
The two of you entered the house so similar to Toriel’s, and it took quite a bit of strength to force yourself to enter it. “If we don’t remember the bad things, how will we know when we’ve found something good?” You’d wandered into the bedroom, picking up the worn dagger. You really didn’t want to have to use it, but... you kept it, heading back out into the main room. It wasn’t too difficult to lift the chain that blocked the stairs to the basement.  
  
“go̧o̕d ̷thing̀s̢, h͘ųh͢?” He looked away. “g̕u͝ess҉ yoų’l̶l be ̷e͡xtr̛a h͢ap̢p͘y wh͝e̴n ́t́his iś o͢v́er,̛ th͞en.”  
  
“I... don’t know about that.” You stared down at your feet as you walked.  
  
“.͜.͝.?͘” He was giving you a questioning look, and you swallowed a little thickly.  
  
“I mean, I’m...” You mustered up your courage. If you didn’t say anything now, you might never get to say anything again. “I’ll miss you, when you go. I... even though things weren’t the greatest here, I always had you. And I... it won’t be **good** without you anymore.”  
  
He had paused, and you had to force yourself to face him. He had a look of disbelief and surprise on his face, and you looked him in the eyes. “ **I’m going to miss being with you, Error.** ”  
  
There. It was out in the open. You felt relieved, but at the same time nervous.  
  
He wasn’t saying anything, but he was glitching out fairly badly, looking like he **wanted** to say something. “i̵..̡͜͝.͏͜” He trailed off, unsure of where to go with the sentence. You laughed softly with embarrassment, and turned.  
  
“I mean, it’s okay if you don’t feel that way. I don’t mind.” You did mind a little, but you understood. Just because you felt a certain way didn’t mean he would.  
  
“wa͢i̡͠ţ͝.̴͜” You paused in surprise, turning to face him again. He had walked up to you now, and was standing right in front of you. He’d never stood that close before. “į̵̡.̕.͝.̷̢ ̴̕i͡f͝ ̛t̵͟he͢͡r͢͡e’s͜ ́̕͞so͟͡͠m̸̷̛e̵̛ ̶wa̶̛y.͠..̡” This was difficult for him, but you waited. You’d wait forever if he needed it. “i͡f̸̕ ̷̡w̛͘ę̸ ̷cą́n͟ ̡st̡̢i̴̛l͟ĺ͏͜...͞ ̵́͡s͝e̕͝͞é͏̶ ͡e̷͜a̷̵ć͜h͢ ̧͢ò͏̶t̛́h̷e͘r̢..҉͟.̷̕” He trailed off, his cheekbones painted light blue, and his eyes looking away from you.  
  
You smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time. “I would love that.”  
  
He finally made eye contact, chuckling nervously, still blushing. “ẃell,͏ ͞go̸o͏d. ‘cause̢ yóu ̶wo͢n͜’͏t͠ ̡h̸a̢v̀e a ͜cḩo͏ic͜e͜.”  
  
You laughed, turning and continuing onwards. “Oh, I won’t?”  
  
Your hand twitched in surprise when you felt his phalanges brush against it, hesitantly sliding between your own fingers. It felt staticy, like he was glitching a little, but... you didn’t mind it. It felt nice. You curled your own fingers against his hand.  
  
“n̸o,͢ ̵y̸ou̸ w̨on’t.”  
  
~  
  
You walked through the gold-bathed judgment hall, with Error leading. Normally, you would have been admiring the beauty of the building, but somehow that felt... wrong this time, like you didn’t deserve to enjoy it. You’d killed almost everyone.  
  
Sudden movement caught the corner of your eye; in the shadows of the pillars you saw a dark figure move hastily behind one of the tall columns and vanish. Your first thought had been that it was sans, but it had been too tall, and too... human-shaped.  
  
“he͠y͡, ͜y͜o͏u͏ ͢a̢ĺŗi̡g͡hţ?̡” Error had paused, and you looked between him and the now empty hall.  
  
“I’m... yeah, I’m fine.” You brushed it off, smiling. It had probably been your imagination getting the better of you.  
  
As the two of you left the hall, you had the strangest feeling.  
  
_You’d forgotten something._  
  
~  
  
This was it. The Throne Room.  
  
You’d entered, Error behind you, and you reluctantly released his hand. Asgore stood in front of the both of you, and you gestured for Error to wait.  
  
“Dum dee dum...” Asgore was humming to himself, watering the flowers spread across the golden room. You said nothing, but he seemed to realize you’d entered the room. “Oh? I someone there? Just a moment! I have almost finished watering these flowers.” He continued sprinkling the water magic onto the mess of roots beneath him, before straightening up. “...Here we are!”  
  
He turned, smiling cheerfully at you and Error. “Howdy! How can I... Oh.” His smile fell, and he backed up a little in surprise. “...”  
  
Error was frowning at him, and you smiled sadly at the large Boss Monster. “Hello.”  
  
Asgore smiled sadly, averting his gaze. “I so badly want to say, ‘would you like a cup of tea?’ but... you know how it is.”  
  
You stared down at the floor. You’d always known you’d have to FIGHT him. You always did.  
  
He had turned, heading towards the door at the back of the Throne Room. “Nice day today, huh? Birds are singing, flowers are blooming... Perfect weather for a game of catch.”  
  
“...įs̕ ͜h͜e ͘se͞riou̸s...” You heard Error mutter behind you, and felt your expression drop a little. At least **one** of you was ready to FIGHT. You felt horrible that you were thankful for that.  
  
“... You know what we must do.” Asgore’s tone was serious now. “When you are ready, come into the next room.” And with that, he’d walked off into the next area, his cape flowing behind him.  
  
You turned to Error. “We just have to fight him, and then Flowey shows up. And then...” You trailed off, leaving the next part unsaid. He was going home.  
  
“h͘e̷y, ̕i͞ ̧s̨aid͝ į ̡was ̀ǵoing ̛t̀o̶ s̸e͝e͘ you,̀ r͢ig̴ht?̨” He firmly reiterated, looking you in the eye.  
  
“I know.” You laughed a little. You were still tense, though. Fighting Asgore wasn’t easy.  
  
“.̴.͟.̛t͡hat͝ gl-͟flo̸wey.” He corrected himself. “...̨is̀n̸’̷t g̀o̸nna͝ ̶t̴ry̢ ̧a̕ǹḑ fi̶g͡ht̡ u̷s̀, r̸igh͘t́?”  
  
“No.” At least you were sure of that. “He’s never fought me since the first playthrough.” **Mocked** you, sure. He’d done that plenty of times. But he’d never tried to FIGHT you again.  
  
“t͢ǫo͢ ́b͝a͠d͘.̢” He chuckled. “i̧ ̸w̵o͞ưld̨n̴’͝t ͠hàv͞e ̀minded ̨taking͜ ́c̶a̷re̢ ͏of ͢h̸i̶m͝ f̡or̀ ͡y̕ou̷.͝”  
  
“How... sweet?” You laughed, leading Error to the next room where Asgore waited.  
  
As soon as you’d entered, Asgore spoke. “How tense... just think of it like... a visit to the dentist.” He paused hesitantly at the doorway, staring down at his feet. “Are you ready? If you are not, I understand. I am not ready, either.” He left the room.  
  
You steeled yourself, breathing deeply. “Well... this is it.”  
  
Error walked ahead of you, and turned his head, smiling. “d͝on͢’̛t wor̷ry̢.̛ we’ve͡ ͠go͘t th͞i͢s.́”  
  
You smiled back. “Right. Let’s finish this.”  
  
The two of you walked into the final room together, prepared for anything thrown your way.  
  
~  
  
He stood before the two of you, as imposing as ever, his back turned to you.  
  
“A-Asgore...” You took a step forward, reaching out a little for him. He didn’t have to do this. You didn’t have to do this. If he could just let you and Error pass...  
  
He turned, smiling sadly.  
  
Then his face darkened. “I am sorry.” Was all he said, before swinging his trident at you, barely giving you time to avoid the blow.  
  
“h̵éh, y’̨k̵n͡ow,̢ ͘i̶ a͡ct̶u͟a͠lly͠ thought͟ ̴yo̕u ̛w̨er̸e͟ o̶ka͞y̷.” Error easily avoided the back-swing of Asgore’s trident. You had to pull a few fancy moves to avoid the flare of magic he was simultaneously shooting, but managed to not take any damage. Where was Error going with this?  
  
“bút̴ ̧n̴o͞w?̧” Error pulled you hard to the right using your soul, moving you as far away from Asgore as you could get. Then, his face darkened. “now ̵i̛ ̡see y̧ou’͝re͞ ̧j̧u̸st ̶as bad a̡s t͞he ŗe̛st o͝f ͏‘e͏m͠.”  
  
What? Why was Error speaking like that to Asgore? It didn’t make any sense.  
  
Asgore froze, trident pulled back as though he had been about to jab Error, an unreadable look on his face. “It... was not...”  
  
“w̨as͡n’̛t ẁhat̴?̛ húh?̧” Error laughed, and it sent a chill down your spine. “wąsn͝’̨t̵ wh́ąt you me͠a͢n̛t́?͏ ͠d͡id̕ņ’͜t̷ ̡you͢ k͠n͝o̴w ac͠ti͘o̡n̕s ̧hav͞e c̛on̵sequ͡e͏nces?͜”  
  
Asgore’s hands tightened around his weapon, and you could see his breathing becoming shaky.  
  
“so͘ ͠wh̨y ̴don’̕t ́y̵o͏ų ̴do͟ ųs a̧ll͜ ͜a favo͡r̕,́ ̵g̨l̛i̸tch̢.̴..” Error held both his hand out to his sides, tilting his head a little. “a͞n̢d ͠s̶t͝op p̸rete͞ndi͢ng ͝y͢óu̵ b̵elo͡n̴g͘ h̀ere̶?̶”  
  
You’d opened your mouth to ask Error what he’d meant when the sound of metal clanging on the floor attracted your attention; Asgore had dropped his weapon.  
  
“I... I never wished to kill them...” He was hunched over, and you weren’t able to see his face any longer. “But I cannot deny... what I am now.” You could see small glints falling from his hidden face to the floor... tears. Asgore was crying. “And what I am...”  
  
His physical form had begun to static in and out of existence, each part seemingly trying to take on a new shape. That strange, screechy beeping noise resounded throughout the room, and the glitching began to solidify.  
  
It was terribly familiar; His cape had wrenched itself backwards and split into two, forming wings like Asriel’s second form. His armor had turned pitch black, as had his face, the only distinguishable features left being the glowing eyes, and his horns had grown curved. Dark, smoky tendrils began drifting from his shoulders and back, and black liquid dripped from his face like tears. He stood fully, lifting his trident from the ground.  
  
“Is à͝ ̷̧̛v̸̧̨̡́i͘͡҉́͜r̷̶̀͠u̴̸ś̵́͠.͏͏͟”  
  
He swung his trident backwards in a slicing motion, and as he did so it changed its physical shape in a haze of darkness, becoming a giant scythe.  
  
He wasted no time, launching himself at Error, barely giving him time to avoid the vicious slice. You ran forward to help Error, only to be met by a wave of black data surrounding you, preventing you from moving forward. “Error!!” You called out to him; you were barely able to make out the fight through the thick wall of zeroes and ones.  
  
“h̨án̕g ̵o͟n̴!̵” You could feel the threads on your soul try to pull, but from the look of it, Asgore was giving him no quarter to do anything more than avoid his swings, combining his speed with the scythe with more shadowy magic attacks.  
  
“Asgore, stop!” You shouted, touching your hand to the shadows. It hurt, and you flinched away.  
  
Unlike every other time you had said that to him, he didn’t falter. He didn’t weaken. His glowing eyes just continued to stay focused on Error, almost as though you didn’t exist.  
  
Error, on the other hand, was smiling almost maniacally now. “wha͡t, ̴don’t͞ ͟yo͏ư ̴h̨ea͢r̢ **t̸h͠e͏m̡͠**? **the̴͞͞y͟ w͞a̡͜n̵͘t ̴y̧o̷u͢͟ ͠to ̢͢s̨to͏͠p̸̶.͡** ”  
  
This seemed to enrage Asgore, and you could see his eyes flash a sequence of blue and orange. Would Error know how to avoid this?!? You panicked, and shouted the sequence from habit. “Stop, stop, move, move, stop!!!”  
  
Error had stopped, thrown off by your shout, thankfully avoiding the first two blue swings. You pulled hard on the threads of your soul, crying out in pain but forcing him to jerk towards you, the two orange swings passing through harmlessly. Error stared in shock at your actions, and the last swing glided through him.  
  
You gasped, shifting upright just in time to see Error recover and avoid a rather vicious blow from the scythe. “s͟͠o̡ **l̸̨̧e̛̕͡t i͞t͟͡ ̡g̶o̸**.”  
  
Asgore still said nothing, more black liquid began dripping from his face to the floor. A dark mass formed behind him as he swung his scythe forward, and then launched itself at Error. He shifted himself backwards quickly using his threads, but it seemed this what Asgore had wanted, because he threw his scythe at Error, the handle catching against his mid-section and the weight sending him reeling backwards against the wall. The blade embedded itself deep in the wall, trapping Error.  
  
“ç̻̻̦̩͚̝͎̎̒ͬ̄̋̓̏ͬ͝r̪̯͕̱͎̼̀̾̽ͪ́͘a̫̯̪͙̘̝͎͕ͩ͗͐̀̀͢p̸͔̬͊͝!̹̻̗̳̖͂͌͌͑̎̒͋̒ͦ̕” Error struggled against it, attempting to teleport himself to no avail; the dark data coming from the scythe was preventing his magic  
  
from working properly, instead causing error signs to appear in the air around him.  
  
Asgore began walking forward towards Error, the dark data following after him like a blanket, covering the room. You panicked, pulling your soul’s threads again; it did nothing this time except cause you pain. Asgore stood in front of Error now, looking down at the ground steadily. His arm shot out, and he held Error by the throat, squeezing. Error had begun to glitch, glaring spitefully at Asgore and clutching the glitched Boss Monster’s much larger arm.  
  
He was going to die. This was going to be it.  
  
_You didn’t want it to end like this._  
  
Using strength you didn’t know you had, you barrelled against the wall of shadows with all your might. It hurt in the strangest way, like everything inside of you was being torn apart, but physically you were fine. Asgore turned away from Error, staring in your direction with what you would imagine to be shock as you ran straight for him.  
  
_Stop._  
  
You pulled out the worn dagger you’d found in New Home as you neared him.  
  
_STOP._  
  
As you ran into him, you plunged the knife in **deep**. You could feel his data crumble around the knife, like it just couldn’t handle it. “STOP!!!!” You shouted, shutting your eyes.  
  
There was no screeching noise, no static. You could hear Error land on the ground, and when you opened your eyes you saw Asgore had simply gone slack. The shadowy data however, continued flowing from him, slowly swallowing the room up. You stepped back, hands shaking, leaving the knife embedded in him. Asgore turned to fully face you sluggishly, a sad smile on his face.  
  
“Truthfully... I do not want to hurt anyone. I just wanted to have... hope...” He was faltering a little, his own body beginning to dissipate into data. “Please... You have the power...” The dark data that was left on him reached out, almost as though to touch you, but in a soft hiss of static it disappeared.

 

Then **everything** disappeared into darkness.  
 


	13. DATA RESTORATION: 100%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> Thank you all so much for sticking with me through this story! Your continued support means a lot to me, especially since we've hit almost 350 kudos! I'm honestly overwhelmed by the positive reception you guys have given this story, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!

**DATA RESTORATION: 100%**  
  
“what...”  
  
This was wrong.  
  
“...w-where...”  
  
This was so wrong.  
  
You were alone. The pitch black that surrounded you felt like it was swallowing you whole, but this wasn’t the void. Your soul floated in front of you, no threads; just (color).  
  
You were alone.  
  
“...E-Error?” You called out desperately, trying to search the darkness. He wasn’t here. Why wasn’t he here?  
  
You heard something move in the dark, coming closer, and were filled with a sickly recognition. That sound...  
  
He appeared in front of you, like he had so many resets ago. But like the others, it wasn’t quite him.  
  
It was the one of the worst things you’d ever seen.  
  
He had already been horrifying, but now it was almost on a completely different level. He was a twitching mess of parts, shaped in the right form, but of the wrong pieces. There were bits of **every other person in the game** in him; Toriel’s glitched arm replacing one of his own, Undyne’s spears instead of thorns, familiar bones jutting out from his back... parts of your friends were interspersed throughout him. His face was no longer there, the space it once occupied now filled with ERROR signs that almost looked like they were bleeding data.  
  
You were frozen in fear, horror, sadness, hatred... you couldn’t move, couldn’t look away.  
  
You were alone.  
  
Then he laughed, and it made you feel sick. It was that same evil laugh, but in the echoes of the darkness you could hear the voices of your friends.  
  
And suddenly he was attacking you, launching wave after wave of Toriel and Asgore’s familiar fire magic. You tried to avoid getting hit, but there were so many fireballs spraying all over the darkness that you were inevitably hit by many of them.  
  
But... you couldn’t help but feel like you deserved this. You’d let your friends die, get injured, and even gone so far as to kill them. Could you really justify that? An alarm sounded, echoing through the darkness. This was where the first soul would attack, but because it wasn’t there, Omega’s screen instead presented a coded sentence, and began decoding it one letter at a time.  
  
Y O U  
S C R E W E D  
U P.  
  
You did.  
  
He attacked again, and you could feel yourself weakening. You couldn’t take damage like this forever, but... you couldn’t will yourself to fight back. He was firing waves of bone attacks, so much like Papyrus’.  
  
The alarm sounded again, and another sentence decoded itself.  
  
Y O U  
C A N  
F I X  
I T.  
  
_Fix it_... **could** you even fix it...? The pain from his next barrage of attacks was becoming unbearable, and you could barely stand. It was spears and electricity, just like Undyne and Alphys.  
  
T H E Y  
A R E  
I N  
P A I N.  
  
You could hear the voices of your friends, all crying out for your help. All crying out for you, but... there was nothing you could do. You had no human souls. You had nothing.  
  
The alarm sounded one more time. The sentence decoded slowly, painfully slowly.  
  
R E S E T  
I T.  
  
_Reset it._  
  
If you reset it, everything would be fine, just like it had every other time. This would be like a distant memory. You would see your friends again. Your eyes filled with tears and you stood shakily, staring at the monstrosity in front of you, and watching as the RESET appeared a few steps in front of you. The glitched Flowey waited, watching you with the eyes of your friends.  
  
_Reset._  
  
You would hug Toriel.  
  
You would joke with sans.  
  
You would eat spaghetti with Papyrus.  
  
You would train with Undyne.  
  
You would nerd out with Alphys.  
  
You would watch Mettaton perform.  
  
You would have tea with King Asgore.  
  
You would trade jabs with Flowey.  
  
_Reset_.  
  
You hadn’t realized it, but your feet had brought you to the RESET, and you stood in front of it now, reaching for it. All you had to do was reset.  
  
Suddenly, something strange occurred to you, almost from nowhere. The thought, “CALL” had suddenly embedded itself in your brain. “Call...” You spoke aloud to yourself, your voice sounding strange and tired. And before you realized what you were saying, your lips had already formed around the words and you’d spoken them.  
  
“Help.”  
  
The glitched Omega Flowey became incredibly angered and lashed out to hit you with the finishing blow. But before it could do so, you felt your body jerk backwards, and out of the way.  
  
“f͜/͝n̕!̴!!”  
  
“Error?!?” You looked back at him, and he pulled your weak body closer, stepping in front of you so he stood between you and Omega Flowey.  
  
“i̢ ̢d͢o͞n’̕t k̡no͢w̸ ͝w͝ha̡t̛ yo̶u’re̷ ̶t͠r̨y͝ìng͡ to p͏ull, bùt̴ iţ’͝s ̀ g͠o̷nn̛a ͜s̀t́op ́n͞ow͏.” He wasn’t talking to you, but Omega Flowey. The glitch just laughed.  
  
“You can’t... you can’t stop it, Error!” You clenched your fists, wobbling. It was impossible. There were no human souls to save you this time.  
  
The glitch swung at you and Error, and he pulled you out of the way with him, keeping you closer than he’d ever let you stand before. He kept this up, avoiding each barrage of attacks. Another voice rang out.  
  
“Perhaps he cannot. But there is one who can.”  
  
Gaster. You hadn’t seen him since Waterfall. He was floating to the glitch’s right with the red soul you’d seen him with before, and when Omega Flowey realized this, it began lashing out at him simultaneously, launching a barrage of attacks that Gaster simply deflected.  
  
“G-Gaster?” You weakly called out to him. It was hard to keep an eye on him with Error constantly switching positions to avoid attacks. “H-how? Who can beat him?”  
  
Gaster was suddenly in front of you and Error. “You.”  
  
“Me...? I can’t, I’ve tried!” You choked, having a sudden heavy feeling. “The souls... there are no souls... I can’t...”  
  
“There is no need for them.”  
  
“What...?” You furrowed your brows, flinching as you saw Omega Flowey begin firing another barrage of intense magic at the three of you.  
  
“You must try to think, f/n. How did you get here?” He blocked the attacks the glitch aimed at the three of you with a circle of glowing orange hands; you could see they were weakening, having difficulty holding the attacks back.  
  
“I... we... we just fought Asgore...” You were confused. Why was he asking you this?  
  
“Not then. **The first time.** ” He re-iterated. The Omega glitch had intensified its attack, and the red soul joined Gaster’s magic, increasing the blocking power exponentially.  
  
“The first time...?” You stared at the blackness below you in concentration. When had the first time been? It had been so long ago...  
  
“Think, f/n.” Gaster urged you on. Error was using his Gaster Blasters to negate some of the glitch’s attacks now, joining in the defense.  
  
The first time you were here... you could barely remember it. The purple walls of the Ruins, the snowy white of Snowdin, the dark blue of Waterfall, the red of Hotland, the grey of New Home... the faces of all your friends, looking, but not at you...  
  
Wait... not... looking at you? Why had they not been looking at you?  
  
Your head had begun to hurt.  
  
_I’m sorry._  
  
Not you... they had been talking, though. You could hear the voices in your head, repeating the same lines over and over, tasting them as though they had been directed at you.  
  
Why... why **weren’t** they directed at you?  
  
The pain was becoming bad.  
  
_I’m sorry._  
  
You could see it. You had no control over it, and so you watched, silently, as **they** walked through the ruins. As **they** left Toriel. As **they** laughed along with Sans and Papyrus, as **they** bravely faced Undyne, fought Mettaton, refused to kill Asgore. You had cheered **them** on, cried with **them** , and as **they** had left with everyone you felt empty inside.  
  
Why couldn’t you have that? You wanted it so badly.  
  
It hurt. Everything hurt. You suddenly realized you’d fallen to your knees, shouting in pain. Your arms shook, and you were taking uneven breaths. Why? Why did you have these memories?  
  
The glitch had frozen. You stared desperately at Gaster, silently begging him to tell you it wasn’t true.  
  
This was your home. This is where you had always been, where your friends had been. **Your friends.** But he didn’t reply, and you knew then it was all true.  
  
This **was** your fault. You had done all this to yourself.  
  
The memories had come flooding back. You’d been alone in the darkness, the void, for so long... But then **it** had appeared... the Underground. It was filled with monsters, plants, animals... it was beautiful. You’d watched the human that had fallen down into the Underground travel through it, and help all the monsters go free. Then... there was nothing. Everyone was gone.  
  
And so you’d done the only thing you had the power to do.  
  
**You made this world.**  
  
That was why it had begun to fall apart; you were remembering it wasn’t real. Remembering that it was nothing more than an illusion, and meeting Error and Gaster had cemented it.  
  
The glitched Omega Flowey suddenly howled in horror, and launched everything it had at the three of you. But everything it had... was everything **you** had given it. You didn’t realize you’d stood, but suddenly you were in front of your friends, protecting them. The attacks all gravitated towards only you, rearranging into numbers and data as it hit your outstretched hand. You had to stop him.  
  
But... could you really do this? Staring back at you was every bit of your friends, every bit of anything you’d ever had. How could you let it go so easily?  
  
You faltered in your defense, and felt some of the attacks making their way through, damaging what little HP you must have had left.  
  
You couldn’t do this.  
  
“f/̡n͢.” It was Error. He was standing beside you. “i ́d͘on̨’t kńơw w͝h̵a̴t i̵t ́i̶s͢ you’v̷e g̛ot̨t̕a d͡o,̷ ̨but..̸.” He slowly, and with some difficulty, placed his hand on top of yours, his fingers entwining with your own. “yo͢u’̀re͝ ͝no̵t..͜. ̷d̵o̢i̵ng it alon̶e.́”  
  
“E-Error...” Your soul filled with... something. And that was when you felt it; the red soul that had been following Gaster approached you, floating just above your hand, and you could feel a sudden pulse of something.  
  
Emotions.  
  
**Love.**  
  
**Help.**  
  
From within the red soul, six souls emerged; orange, yellow, green, violet, light blue, and dark blue. However, unlike the red soul, these were upside-down... these were monster souls. They all felt so familiar, yet somehow... different. Like you knew them, but never really did.  
  
**Help.**  
  
Once again the emotion flooded you; they all wanted to **help** you.  
  
They wanted to save you.  
  
And all you had to do was accept it.  
  
And so you did.  
  
If Omega Flowey had seen the sudden burst of power coming, he showed no signs of it. The seven souls had suddenly started spinning, and the data surrounding the monstrosity began to fall apart, leaking down into the nothing below. It howled angrily, lashing out at the unseen force that was assaulting it, to no avail.  
  
You walked forward, following the path the souls were creating for you through the data, through the attacks. But the data pouring from Omega Flowey had become a spray of dark zeroes and ones, and you couldn’t tell where the glitch’s data was coming from anymore. You faltered.  
  
“don’̴t͠ ͡g̢i͝ve up!͝” You could hear Error far behind you, and suddenly strings of blue had appeared, showing you what it was you couldn’t see; the core of the glitch.  
  
You reached out for the dark core of Omega Flowey, following the vibrant blue threads that had attached themselves to it, ignoring the horrid glitched noises escaping from it as it tried uselessly to escape you.  
  
It continued screeching horribly, making computerized sounds within the fray, and you willed yourself to do the only thing you knew you could; rearrange it back into data.  
  
Destroy your life.  
  
Destroy what you had done.  
  
Destroy what you had **created.**  
  
You closed your eyes and breathed deeply, before pressing a hand gently to the pitch black core of Omega Flowey; to the core of your world.  
  
“Goodbye.”  
  
The light from the souls suddenly became blindingly overpowering, bleeding all their individual colors out in all directions. After a single, loud, data-garbled wail, the glitch suddenly vanished into dissipating data, and the room stayed black, empty. You fell to your knees and buried your face in your hands to hide your tears.  
  
Error looked from you to Gaster, at a loss. “w̴h̴a̧t.͟..͘ ͟w͟hat ͘j̶u͜s̀t hap͢pened͘?”  
  
Gaster looked around, filled with sorrow. “This place is not real.” He lowered himself down to your level, gently placing a hand on your shoulder and looking at Error. “It never was.”  
  
“bu̕t̵ ̶the̴n̢ ho͞w.̧..̷” Error trailed off, looking at his threads. They had loosened from your soul, and were now attached to nothing.  
  
“I do not know how they came into existence; I only know they exist. They are part of this world...” He paused. “Of **every** world. Yet, they cannot exist on the same plane as everyone.” He was speaking from a more personal side, now. He understood that feeling.  
  
Error seemed to suddenly realize what Gaster was saying, and he stared at you. “s̨o..̴. ͝they͢ ̴ **cre̛a̶ted͝** t̷his̶ ̸ẃorĺd... becaùse.͢.͟.͠” He trailed off, and you slowly sat up, tears streaming from your face.  
  
“...because I **wanted** to belong to it. I **wanted** to belong to it so badly.” Your hands curled into fists, and you choked out a sob. “I wanted it so badly I couldn’t even remember that I created it. That nothing was real.” You loosened your hands in defeat. “And... you could have died... I could have killed you... just because I didn’t want to believe it was fake!!!!”  
  
He said nothing, and you stood, using Gaster’s hand as help. “I... I’m so sorry... I...” You turned to Error, approaching him. “Please, just **delete** me!!! I can’t... I can’t live!! I’m a glitch!!!” When he just looked at you in shock, you shook your head violently. “PLEASE!! HELP ME!!!”  
  
You were desperate. You couldn’t live like this, knowing you’d risked the lives of the only two real things in your world for an illusion of having friends, a life... you were weak. You were bad. You were a glitch and you deserved to be deleted. You waited for the pain of death.

  


Instead you were met with a pleasantly tingly feeling and a pair of arms wrapped around you. Your eyes widened. He was glitching; you could feel the makeup of his very being twitching in and out of existence, and the ERROR signs had multiplied, but...  
  
He was hugging you.  
  
“y͠͏̕o͝͡u’͢re̶͜ ̷͝n̕o͢t͘͠ ̧ą̛ ͢gĺ̢iţ̕͞c̨h͝.͘͜” His voice was finite, if not incredibly static-laced.  
  
He hadn’t said a lot, but it was somehow enough. You wrapped your arms around him too, feeling your tears fall onto his black jacket.  
  
You didn’t judge him when you heard a loud beeping noise and let him go, wiping tears from your eyes. He would need to reboot.  
  
You turned to Gaster, a weak smile on your face. “Gaster... thank you. I’m... I’m so sorry.” He might have forced you to remember things you’d rather have not, but... in the end, you needed to. You couldn’t keep living in a lie.  
  
He smiled softly at you, folding his hands. “There is nothing to apologize for. We cannot help our feelings at times.”  
  
You laughed quietly. “But... how did you... how did you guys find me? I thought I was alone...”  
  
He gestured to the red soul, and it moved forward as though understanding the conversation. “When I told my young friend about you, they were very sad. They wanted to help you... and so did their friends.” The other souls did not move from their lined-up position behind the red soul, almost as though they were waiting for something. “And so,” Gaster continued. “My young friend requested I bring them here, if only for a short time. “  
  
The souls. You recognized the red soul now. It was the child you’d watched the first time. “They...” You’re voice cracked. “They wanted to... SAVE me...?”  
  
Gaster said nothing, simply smiling. The red soul moved closer, so close that you could feel the emotions waving gently off of it.  
  
Concern.  
  
Happiness.  
  
Strength.  
  
_**Love.**_  
  
You could feel tears welling up again, and you tenderly reached out to touch the soul with your own power, putting all your feelings into it.  
  
_**Thank you.**_  
  
Gaster was smiling warmly. “Actually... I believe each soul has something they wish to communicate with you, f/n.”  
  
“They... they do?” Were they angry? You couldn’t blame them.  
  
The violet soul had moved forward as you said this, and you carefully approached, reaching a hand to hover over it. To your surprise, a familiar voice echoed in your head.

“Um! So! I’m talking now!  
...  
L-listen, I... I know what it’s like to feel...  
Like you’re alone...  
B-BUT YOU’RE NOT!!  
B-because...  
Even if you think you’ve done something bad...  
People will still forgive you, as long as you... as you can forgive yourself.  
SO!!  
So...  
Don’t be too hard on yourself, ok?”

The voice faded, and the violet soul returned to the red one. The dark blue soul came next.  
“ATTENTION BEING!  
THE SMALL HUMAN HAS TOLD US YOU ARE VERY SAD AND ALONE!  
BUT!!!  
DO NOT WORRY!!  
I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR FRIEND!!!  
EVEN IF WE CANNOT ACTUALLY MEET...  
I WILL ALWAYS BE CHEERING YOU ON!!!  
NYEH HEH HEH!!!”

The dark blue soul returned, and the light blue soul came forward.  
“hey, kiddo.  
watchin’ us without us knowin’, huh? kinda creepy.  
if ya really wanted to hang out, ya coulda’ just said so.  
but hey, uh, don’t worry about bein’ alone.  
‘cause if i’ve learned anything...  
it’s that no matter how scared or alone you feel...  
you aren’t alone. things’ll work out.  
‘sides, i got a good feeling you’re gonna be ok.  
so keep your chin up, hey?”

The green soul was next, floating quickly over as the light blue soul returned to the red one.  
“HEY PUNK!!!  
So, you were watchin’ us the whole time...  
BET I LOOKED PRETTY COOL, HUH?!?!?!?  
But, hey...  
You know, even if you’re all freaked out and sad and everything...  
You got people worryin’ about you, y’know?  
I mean, the kid didn’t even know you, and they still wanted to help.  
So what I’m trying to say is...  
DON’T GO DOING ANYTHING DUMB, GOT IT?!?  
YOU GOT A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WORRY’N ABOUT YOU!!!!”

As soon as the green soul had returned, the yellow soul floated over.  
“Hello darling!  
While I’m used to being watched by adoring fans,  
I’m certainly not used to making them feel so sad.  
Well, it’s understandable!  
I’d be sad too if I could no longer watch my wonderful self!  
But really, darling, no matter how far people are from you,  
It doesn’t mean they no longer care.  
Even if we can’t see each other face-to-face to say it, we can feel it.  
So stay tuned, darling!! Your show will go on!”

Lastly, the orange soul approached.  
“Hello.  
When my child told me of you,  
I was really quite surprised to hear there was another being there the entire time.  
I can... understand loneliness, quite well, actually.  
And I know it can be very hard.  
But even if you cannot reach us, know this:  
Though I cannot touch you, cannot hear you, cannot see you...  
You may be my child, as well, if you would like.  
No matter where it is you find yourself...  
Know that you have a mother, if you wish it.  
You are not alone, my child.”

Your cheeks had become wet with tears, and you clutched your clothing, having nowhere else to put your hands. You were overwhelmed; they didn’t know you. They would probably **never** know you. Yet here they were, giving you all their love and support, like they had known you their whole lives. You choked on a sob, but could only release one emotion to the souls:  
  
_**Happiness.**_  
  
You were so happy.  
  
You smiled, wiping tears from your cheeks as the red soul backed up towards Gaster again, seeming happy, too. “Ah, I am afraid we shall have to go. My friend is a little weak from the exertion of being here, and carrying its friends.” Gaster looked over at the soul, then you. “Will you be okay?”  
  
You nodded, looking over at the rebooting Error. “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”  
  
~  
  
You sat next to Error when Gaster and the souls had left, staring into the silent void.  
  
**This** was real.  
  
And now...  
  
You looked over at the sound of Error coming back to life, laughing softly when you noticed the blue tint on his cheeks and the petulant frown on his face.  
  
You didn’t need to pretend anymore. 

 

You weren’t alone.  
 


	14. UNDERTALE.exe

There was darkness. Then suddenly, there was something. A world. A world had formed in front of you. You could see it.  
  
You watched as the human child fell into the hole, tumbling into the Underground. They stood slowly, carefully, and then headed straight for the only exit in the room.  
  
_How brave._  
  
You watched as they spoke to the first monster they met, and were shocked and horrified to see the monster attack them. You wanted to help them, wanted them to be okay. Just as their little red soul was about to be mortally injured, a large, white goat monster saved them. She smiled, and led them through the ruins. She held their hand. She brought them “Home”.  
  
_How kind._  
  
You watched as the motherly monster tried to stop the child from leaving, but in the end could not bring herself to harm them. You found yourself crying a little as they hugged her goodbye, before leaving the Ruins forever.  
  
_How sad._  
  
You watched the flower warn the child of dangers to come, and you once again felt the need to protect them. You laughed as they met a short skeleton who told funny jokes, and laughed even more when they met a tall skeleton who tried his hardest, but somehow always ended up being goofy. You watched him try to “capture” the human child, only to have them flirt with him. In the end, the human child continued on.  
  
_How fun_.  
  
You watched in fear as the child was chased by a powerful knight, and attacked by a dummy. You clapped in triumph when the child wore the knight down, and panicked when the child ran all the way to Hotland, only to stop and help the knight when she overheated.  
  
_How forgiving._  
  
You watched in curiosity as the child completed the myriad of puzzles with a new friend, and when they performed on live television with a robot you rooted for them to win everyone over. When they entered the CORE, you worried for their safety.  
  
_How determined._  
  
You watched as they walked through New Home, hearing for the first time the tragic story of the Underground. Your heart ached at the sad expression on their face. Your chest swelled with emotion when they continued forward, knowing they would have to battle the King.  
  
_How strong._  
  
You watched with bated breath when it all went bad in the end, and they battled against a monstrosity. You felt your heart pang when they finally got help, at the end. And when they refused to kill, even though the flower had done so many terrible things to them, you felt proud.  
  
_How amazing._  
  
You watched as the child came back one last time. You saw them help the knight and the scientist. You saw them venture into the dark and scary basement, only to help the strange creatures that lurked within.  
  
_How intuitive._  
  
You watched in horror as all the great friends the child had made were absorbed into the flower, turning it into the Prince. You watched as he tried to end the world, as he tried to reset everything. You watched as the human child never gave up, SAVEing their friends.  
  
You watched as they never gave up, SAVEing the Prince.  
  
_How powerful._

  


 

And you watched as, after the long journey, they all left. 

And then you couldn’t watch them anymore.

 

They were gone. 

 

Everyone had left, and now you watched nothing.

 

You could feel the pain in yourself building every day. 

 

Why did they have to leave?

Why couldn’t you go with them?

Why couldn’t **you** be their friend?

 

And so you did the only thing you could.

 

You created the world again.

 

It wasn’t the same world, no. None of it was real, nothing but rearranged data, but... 

 

It was **yours.**

 

You could be with the friends you’d watched for as long as you’d like. 

 

You could save everyone, just like the child had. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You wouldn’t be alone anymore. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters left to do: Epilogue, and ???.


	15. PROGRAM LOCKED

**PROGRAM LOCKED.**  
**FILES CAN NO LONGER BE EDITED.**

You kicked around in the soft, pinkish-hued snow, laughing to yourself. “What about here? This place is sort of pretty!” The pine trees were a cute, faded blue, and the sky was dark violet and filled with little stars.  
  
“no̸p̡ę.” Error answered, walking casually down the path.  
  
You sighed to yourself, shaking your head with a smile. “I swear, one of these times we’ll find a really nice place.”  
  
He laughed. “w̧h̸at’s wr̕on͡g̛ w͠i̷t̸h ̵hom̢e?”  
  
You jogged a bit to catch up with him, falling into step beside him. “Nothing.” You didn’t mind the void, especially since you weren’t living there alone. Your remembered ability to rearrange data had come in handy; you now had a pretty nice little home set up. It was cozy, and rather simple to make vanish, if you needed to.  
  
Although at first he’d been reluctant, eventually you’d convinced Error to take you with him when he went to other universes, or “AU’s” as he had called them. He’d told you they were filled with beings like the ones you’d had in the world you created, but... you’d never actually met any of them. He never took you with him when he worked, only when he was checking the worlds out. And that was fine with you.  
  
You looked up at the starry sky, humming in thought. What if... “Hey, Error.”  
  
“yea̷h͡?”  
  
You thought hard on how to word this. “Can we... can I try kissing you?”  
  
“..̀.” He’d frozen. The two of you had never really been much for physical affection, especially since ‘touch’ was a bit of a rough concept on him. Since the hug so long ago, you’d been successfully able to hold his hand on a few occasions. But other than that, there hadn’t been anything. You didn’t want to hurt him or freak him out, so you didn’t really mind all that much.  
  
You’d always sort of wanted to try kissing him, though.  
  
“i̵.͠..” He was searching for words to say, and you waited for him to turn you down. You wouldn’t be sad about it, you just figured you’d give it a shot. “i͞ ͝me̶an̡, i͜f... ͟i͘f ̷y̧où’̨re r̀eally͝ ͝set͝ ͟o̵n t́ha͏t.̴..”  
  
“Well, there’s no pressure.” You quickly assured him. “I won’t be upset if you say no.”  
  
He’d stopped walking and turned to face you, a serious expression. “i ju͠sţ, ̨y͠’knơw.͝ ͝i don’̡ţ ̧k͢nów̧ ̕h̸ow̢ ͢í’͘ll̀ r͢e̕ac̴t.̴”  
  
You nodded. “I know.”  
  
“şo th̨́e͡͏̷ǹ.̢͠͞.͠.͘ ̛i ̀gu̧̢͜e͢͏s̢s͞͏..̷.̨̕͢” His cheeks had turned light blue, and he avoided eye contact.  
  
Taking that as your cue, you started off with something familiar; hand-holding. You carefully and very deliberately slipped your hands into his, enjoying the cool, smooth feeling of the bones and the soft tingling that always accompanied his touch. His hands flinched slightly, but he didn’t pull away or crash, and so you looked up into his face.  
  
He looked as nervous as you felt, and you laughed softly; at least you were in the same boat. When he gave you a questioning glance you shook your head a little, feeling your face flush. “Okay. I’m... I’ll kiss you, now.” You felt a little goofy saying it aloud like that, but you wanted to give him as much warning as possible. He nodded, closing his eyes tightly, and you leaned forward, closing your own.  
  
Your lips met his teeth, and a slightly stronger tingling feeling washed over you. They were smooth, the static giving them a little bit of a numbing feeling; but it wasn’t the sensation of your lips meeting him that you had been wanting from this kiss; you wanted the **feelings**. And you had so many feelings for Error, it almost felt like a relief to let them flood out in the simple motion.  
  
You pulled back after a moment, not wanting to linger too long and freak him out, carefully sliding your hands out of his own, and gave him a chance to recover from the physical touches. He was looking at you in an unreadable way, and then smiled.  
  
“t̷h̨a̕t͘... ̡was͞n’t͟ ̡so͠ ͞h͝or͞ŕi̵b̢l͏e͡.̴”  
  
You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you. “Thanks?”  
  
He laughed too, and began walking again. “yo̢u know̶ ̸wh̡a̴t i͠ m̷ean.”  
  
“I do.” You walked beside him, humming cheerfully to yourself.  
  
You felt his hand slide into your own in a gentle manner, and you carefully curled your fingers through his, smiling widely. Even if there were still gaps in your memory, you knew that no matter what happened...  
  
Things would be fine.


	16. Last Goodbye!

Hello!!  
I would like to thank everyone so much for reading this fanfic, leaving kudos and comments, and just generally being incredibly supportive!  
I had a lot of moments writing this when I felt so unconfident with the chapters I was posting, particularly the ones that involved “killing” off characters, but thanks to everyone’s reassurance and continued support, we made it through!  
Also, a big thanks to the hard work of the people on the Undertale Wiki! I used a lot of the dialogue they transcribed for my Boss battle scenes, and it really saved me some time transcribing them myself.  
Again, all credit goes to **loverofpiggies** on tumblr for the creation of Error!Sans; without that, there’d be no story! But I’d also like to re-iterate that the preceding story had **nothing** officially to do with Error’s actual story; it’s just a fanfiction.

As to those of you who still have questions about the story...  
Feel free to message me on my tumblr, thel1miter, if anything is really bothering you! (I know, it’s kind of empty at the moment) Otherwise, I have no problem with people using conjecture to fill in some of the small, unspoken holes in the story.  
After all, is **any** story ever really finished?

Thank you all again for reading and I hope you enjoyed the ride!

Your dear friend,  
Fanfic_Soup


	17. ACCESS C:/%%@N2

**Accessing Program Files >UNDERTALE.exe>appdata>config.ini**  
**Program files LOCKED.**  
**.**  
**.**  
**.**  
**C:\DOSKEY**  
**C:\RECALL CMD:PRGRMLOCK**  
**.**  
**Running command.**  
**ERROR**  
**Program files LOCKED.**  
**.**  
**.**  
**.**  
**C:\RUN PRGRM:AUTODDMR(2.7).vbe**  
**.**  
**Running program.**  
**Program has been marked as QUARANTINED.**  
**Program inaccessible.**  
**.**  
**C:\MOVE PRGRM:AUTODDMR (2.7).vbe >Directory2 **  
**.**   
**Program has been moved.**  
**.**  
**C:\RUN PRGRM:AUTODDMR (2.7).vbe**  
**.**  
**Running program.**  
**.**  
**.**  
**C:\ACCESS >UNDERTALE.exe **  
**.**  
**Program files LOCKED.**  
**C:\ATTRIB >UNDERTALE.exe **  
**.**  
**Displaying Program attributes.**  
**.**  
**C:\DEL FILES:ALL**  
**.**  
**Processing.**  
**All attribute files have been deleted.**  
**.**  
**C:\ACCESS >UNDERTALE.exe **  
**.**  
**UNDERTALE.exe had been accessed.**  
**C:\MOVE PRGRM:AUTODDMR (2.7).vbe >UNDERTALE.exe **  
**.**  
**Processing.**  
**.**  
**.**  
**.**  
**.**  
**.**  
**UNDERTALE.exe has been modified.**  
**.**  
**C:\LOCK PRGRM:UNDERTALE.exe**  
**.**  
**Processing.**  
**UNDERTALE.exe has been locked.**  
**.**  
**.**  
**C:\EXIT**


End file.
